daybreak
by French Shark
Summary: Emmett is sick of the new, mopey, withdrawn Edward that's a result of leaving Bella, so he gives him the Twilight Saga because it's a local popular "chick flick". Little did they know it was a story about them...full summary inside!
1. chick flick

Summary: Emmett is sick of the new, mopey, withdrawn Edward that's a result of leaving Bella, so he gives him the Twilight Saga because it's a local popular "chick flick". Little did they know it was a story about _them_...what will happen when Edward reads about what happened to Bella when he left? Will he come running back?

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**A/N: I would like to thank Divepup for supporting me since the beginning and also helping me with the details (ah the "chick flick" idea was AWESOME!) and so, (in addition to the chocolate, position of one of my two bestest friends, and the box of Twinkies you shall receive today...) I dedicate this chapter to you.**

**Disclaimer: I OWN _NOT_ ANY OF THE CULLEN FAMILY, SWAN FAMILY, AND/OR ANY OTHER CHARACTERS OR ANYTHING IN BOLD!!!  
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**daybreak**

1. chick flick

Emmett's P.O.V.

I went to go find Edward to go hunting. As usual, when I opened the door, he was on the floor, in the corner, curled up in a pathetic little ball. I sighed and entered the room, slowly and cautiously. He was so easy to hurt anymore.

"Edward?" I called quietly, not looking away from him.

"What, Emmett?" he mumbled, looking back at me.

His eyes were coal black, with dark purple rings surrounding them.

"Alice, Jasper, and I are going hunting. Are you coming?" I asked, though I knew we would make him come, whether he wanted to or not.

"What's the point?" Edward said, his eyes straying back to the floor.

"The point is that you need to and you haven't gone for over a month." I said, getting angry with him despite myself.

"I'm not going." he said, refusing to look back up at me.

"Yes, you are. Even if Alice, Jasper, and I have to drag you there." I said, letting him hear the anger in my voice.

"I'm not going." he said again.

"I'm getting Alice and Jasper." I said, and I turned around just as they came in.

"Saw you were going to call for back up." Alice said simply.

"Thanks. Well, then, do you mind helping me to drag him out to the car?" I asked.

"Sure," Jasper said, and we walked over to Edward.

Edward didn't even flinch as we grabbed him and dragged him outside. On the way out, I noticed Esme peering around a corner, looking as though she were crying--or would have been if she could. I tried to give her a small smile, but I think it ended up looking more like a grimace.

Once we had gotten Edward in the back of Carlisle's black Mercedes, the rest of us piled in and pulled out of the driveway. The whole time we were driving out to the nearest hunting site, Edward just sat there in the seat, still slumped against the window, not having bothered to move from when we'd thrown him there, and he was even still staring in the same direction from when he'd been looking at his bedroom floor.

I briefly tried to have a conversation with him, but gave up since he didn't even seem to recognize my presence. At this time, we had gotten to our destination. Alice, Jasper, and I got out, and then proceeded to carry him out of the car. Even as we took him into the woods, he never moved so much as a muscle.

We dropped him (none too gently) on the ground once we'd gotten a good hundred or more feet into the trees.

At this point, we left him to fend for himself as we hunted on the deer and other various animals. Then, only once we were finished, did we worry about him. We went back to where we'd left him and found him still on the ground, staring ahead, but seeing nothing.

"I've got it," said Jasper, running back for a couple of deer.

A few seconds later, he returned with two injured, bleeding deer, one in each arm. He took them over to Edward and set them down in front of him. We then turned around and left him to eat in peace.

After two or three minutes had passed, we returned. Edward had eaten, his eyes now a golden brown, and the purple rings were gone. But other than that, he was exactly the way we'd left him, sitting on the forest floor and looking away.

Grudgingly, we again picked him up and walked him back to the car. Then we returned to the house. We pulled up the driveway, got out, dragged Edward back to his room, and then shut the door on our way out.

"I'm so sick of how…how _mopey_ he's been lately!" I said, not even waiting to be out of earshot. "This was _his_ idea after all. He needs to just get over it already!"

"Emmett, we're all sick of it, but what can we do, because, yes, it was his _choice_." Alice tried to reason with me.

"Well, I'm going to make sure he stops this insanity." I said, and I knew I would do it, no matter how hard it was or how long it would take.

I returned to my own room, down the hall. I sat down on my unused bed, and tried to think about what I was going to do. He missed Bella, and he needed a distraction. But not just any distraction, like a small joke or anything that was as small and insignificant as that. What he needed is something he loved or at least enjoyed. Like reading.

Reading! That was it! I'd get him something to read! It may be a little difficult to get him to do it, but I would make sure he did. Just like we made sure he went hunting.

So, I went over to my computer and went to a local bookstore's website and looked under the popular section. At the top was a book called _Twilight_. There was a thumbnail picture of the cover beside it. It was someone's hands, holding an apple.

_How odd,_ I thought to myself, and so I clicked on the link.

I didn't care enough about what it was about to read the summary, but as I glanced at it, I saw something about vampires.

How perfect. Edward would enjoy mocking this! I added it to the cart. As I scrolled to the bottom, I looked at the related items and noticed three other books that looked similar to the one I was looking at. I clicked on the first one, called _New Moon_. It turned out to be the second book of four in the "Twilight Saga". Cool. I added the other three books to my cart.

I returned to the page for _Twilight_, and scrolled down to the comments.

There was, of course, a variety of comments. Several were along the lines of "_OMG! This book is __amazing__! I loved it!_", but there were also several that basically said "_Just a chick flick_", and everything in between.

I went to the check out page. It would take at least a week and a half for them to ship the books. I doubted that I'd be able to wait that long. So, I decided that I would just go to the store instead. I quickly jotted down the names of the books…

_-Twilight_

_-New Moon_

_-Eclipse_

_-Breaking Dawn_

I closed the window and took the piece of paper with me when I left the room. Alice was waiting just outside the door, of course. She gave me a grin to show her appreciation of my plan. I grinned back and continued on my way out to my Jeep. I drove out of the neighborhood and soon arrived at the local Borders. I went inside and found a computer to find out where the books would be. They were located in the ten section, which happened to be almost right in front of where I was standing. I quickly skimmed the bookshelves and found them at the far end. There were several copies of each book, thankfully. I grabbed a copy of each one and went to the cashier.

For the whole series, it cost a little over $100. Once I'd paid, I went back home, smiling to myself. I got out of the car, grabbing the bag of books, and went inside, only to (once again) find Alice waiting for me.

"I want to help." She said. Of course she did.

I handed her the bag and we went down the hall to Edward's room. Again, he was in the corner, in that pathetic little ball.

"Edward?" I asked him, just like earlier this afternoon.

No reaction.

I walked over to his corner, Alice following.

"Edward," I said again, and I tapped him on the shoulder, "I want to talk to you."

He looked up.

"I know you're upset about what you did, but you've got to remember that it was _your_ idea…_your_ choice. You need to stop moping around like this all day. But I didn't just come in to yell at you. I came to try to help you." I paused, almost expecting him to tell me that he didn't care about the books…deny that they would help him.

But he drowned out everyone's thoughts anymore. So he didn't know.

"I got you some books I thought you might like." I continued, referring to the bag Alice was holding with a jerk of my head, "They're about vampires." I tried to laugh a little, but with little success. "You love mocking people's mistakes. Read them."

Edward slowly shook his head.

"Edward," Alice pleaded, "at least give them a try."

She held out the bag.


	2. twilight: preface

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CULLEN AND/OR SWAN FAMILIES AND/OR ANYTHING IN BOLD!!!**

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**daybreak**

2. twilight: preface

Edward's P.O.V.

Why did I agree to this? I knew perfectly well that _reading_—though I may have loved it before—would _not_ help me sort out my problems. Yes, this was my choice, as Emmett had pointed out, but I also knew that this is what would happen when I made it. But, against my better judgment, I'd agreed to read the stupid books. Like Alice said, I could at least try.

So, grudgingly, I opened the bag and took out the first book, _Twilight_. The cover was a picture of someone holding an apple.

I thought they said this was book about vampires? I turned it over and read the back cover.

I froze. It couldn't be possible! I read it again…

_**About three things I was absolutely positive.**_

_**First, **__**Edward was a vampire**__**.**_

_**Second, there was a part of him—and I didn't know how dominant that part might be—that **__**thirsted for my blood**__**.**_

_**And third, I was **__**unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him**__**.**_

I'd read it correctly. But how was that _possible_? It was like I was sleeping and just woken up. I sat up straight and hastily opened it up and began to read.

_**Preface**_

_**I'd never given much thought to how I would die—though I'd had reason enough in the last few months—but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this.**_

_What was this referring to? _I wondered, _This doesn't sound quite like Bella. Was I wrong after all?_

_**I stared without breathing across the long room, into the dark eyes of the hunter, and he looked pleasantly back at me.**_

That's when I realized. _James._ I shuddered.

_**Surely it was a good way to die, in the place of someone else, someone I loved. Noble even. That ought to count for something.**_

_Now __that__ has Bella written all over it._ I mused.

I briefly wondered why reading this seemed to be _relieving_ my pain...rather than strengthening it. It must have been because this was Bella…it was her thoughts…one of the things I'd been trying to figure out for a while, even if unsuccessfully.

_**I knew that if I'd never gone to Forks, I wouldn't be facing death now. But, terrified as I was, I couldn't bring myself to regret the decision. When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it's not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end.**_

I couldn't help but feel the slightest bit of happiness. She was referring to me.

_**The hunter smiled in a friendly way as he sauntered forward to kill me.**_

And then it was gone.


	3. twilight: first sight

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CULLEN FAMILY, SWAN FAMILY, OR ANY OTHER CHARACTERS OR ANYTHING IN BOLD!!!**

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daybreak

2. twilight: first sight

Edward's P.O.V. (from now on unless I otherwise specify)

_**First Sight**_

_**My mother drove me to the airport with the windows rolled down. It was seventy-five degrees in Phoenix, the sky a perfect, cloudless blue. I was wearing my favorite shirt—sleeveless, eyelet lace; I was wearing it as a farewell gesture. My carry-on item was a parka.**_

I heard a soft laugh and was surprised when I realized it was my own. I hadn't laughed in months. Never mind that, I hadn't even _smiled_ in that long! With another chuckle, I continued reading.

_**In the Olympic Peninsula of northwest Washington State, a small town named Forks exists under a near-constant cover of clouds. It rains on this inconsequential town more than any other place in the United States of America. It was in this town that I'd been compelled to spend a month every summer until I was fourteen. That was the year I finally put my foot down—**_

Another laugh, this time not quite as soft.

Within a second, the rest of my family had filled my room, looking thoroughly shocked.

"What?" I asked innocently.

"You…laughed?" Alice asked, as though she was no longer sure.

"Yes," I answered simply.

"What…what happened? You were just…like…_empty_ not five minutes ago." Emmett said, astonished.

"Thanks, Emmett," I said, "for the books…I don't think there's anything more perfect."

There was only silence.

Then Emmett spoke.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"It's…Bella." I said, holding up the book, "Look…"

Emmett just stared for a moment, before taking the book. He looked at the page for only a few seconds before looking back at me.

"Oh, my god." He gasped. "You're right."

Everyone looked over his shoulder, reading.

"How is that possible?" Carlisle wondered.

"I don't know," I answered. "But it's amazing!"

"Indeed," Carlisle said.

"Well," said Alice, "read it!"

I reached for the book, but Emmett took it out of my reach.

"No way," Emmett said, "_I'm_ going to read."

He took a deep breath, and then stopped.

"Where were you?" he asked.

"When she puts her foot down. At the top." I answered.

And Emmett began reading…

"—**These past three summers, my dad, Charlie, vacationed with me in California for two weeks instead.**

"**It was to Forks that I now exiled myself—**Sounds like _someone_ hates Forks. _'Exiled.'_ Wow."

"Just read Emmett." Rosalie said.

"Fine," Emmett said, and then he mumbled, "party poopers."

"Read!" Alice yelled.

"All right, alright already!" he said. And he returned to the book.

"—**An action that I took with great horror. I detested Forks.**

"I told you!" he said.

"READ!" everyone yelled.

"Okay, okay!" Emmett said and continued on.

"**I loved Phoenix. I loved the sun and the blistering heat. I loved the vigorous, sprawling city.**

"'**Bella,' my mom said to me—the last of a thousand times—before I got on the plane. 'You don't have to do this.'**

"**My mom looks like me, except with—**okay, we all know what her mom looks like. Can I _please_ skip this?" Emmett asked.

"Fine," I allowed, waving him to continue.

"—**How could I leave my loving, erratic, harebrained mother to fend for herself?**

"_Quite_ easily, actually," Emmett added.

Rosalie went to say something, but he fortunately continued before she had the chance.

"**Of course she had Phil now, so the bills would probably get paid, there would be food in the refrigerator, gas in her car, and someone to call when she got lost, but still... **–okay, _now_ I get it!" he said.

"Alright, that's it. _My_ turn to read, Emmett." Alice growled (yes, growled) and she grabbed the book from him.

"But I was—"Emmett started to complain but immediately froze when Alice glared at him.

"'**I **_**want**_** to go,' I lied. I'd always been a bad liar—"**

"_That's _for sure! Remember when…she...tried to…never mind…" Emmett trailed off, no doubt because of another of Alice's deadly glares.

"—**but I'd been saying this lie so frequently lately that it sounded almost convincing now.**

"'**Tell Charlie I said hi.'**

"'**I will.'**

"'**I'll see you soon,' she insisted. 'You can come home whenever you want—I'll come right back as soon as you need me.'**

"**But I could see the sacrifice in her eyes behind the promise.**

"'**Don't worry about me,' I urged. 'It'll be great. I love you, Mom.'**

"Oh, my gosh, this makes me miss her so much." Alice said. Then she gasped when she saw the slight grimace that flashed across my face.

"Oh, I'm sorry Edward." She said.

"No, it's okay. You didn't mean anything by it." I said, trying to smile at her.

"Thanks, Edward." She smiled.

She returned to the book.

"**She hugged me tightly for a minute, and then I got on the plane, and she was gone.**

"**It's a four-hour flight from Phoenix to Seattle, another hour in a small plane up to Port Angeles, and then an hour drive back down to Forks. Flying doesn't bother me; the hour in the car with Charlie, though, I was a little worried about.**

"That would definitely be hard to endure." Emmett said. "An hour in a car with someone you don't really like…and no one else." He shuddered.

"Yes," Alice agreed angrily, "it would. Now," she continued, through gritted teeth, "if you're _quite finished_…?"

"Hmm…yep, I'm done now." Emmett said.

"Emmett," Esme said, "please…stop interrupting."

"Sorry, Esme." Emmett said, and he lowered his head in shame.

"**Charlie had really been fairly nice about the whole thing. He seemed genuinely pleased that I was coming to live with him for the first time with any degree of permanence. He'd already gotten me registered for high school and was going to help me get a car.**

"**But it was sure to be awkward with Charlie. Neither of us was what anyone would call verbose, and I didn't know what there was to say regardless. I knew he was more than a little confused by my decision—like my mother before me, I hadn't made a secret of my distaste for Forks.**

"**When I landed in Port Angeles, it was raining. I didn't see it as an omen—just unavoidable.**

"**Charlie was waiting for me with the cruiser. This I was expecting, too. Charlie is Police Chief Swan to the good people of Forks—"**

Emmett laughed.

"Impressive," I said.

"What?" Emmett asked.

"I just thought it was impressive that you managed to stay silent for so long." I explained.

"I'm disappointed you expect so little of me." Emmett gasped.

"It's not just me; Jasper was thinking the same thing.

Emmett turned on Jasper, who backed up a couple steps.

_Hey! _Jasper thought, knowing I would hear. _No fair, Edward!_

"Yes, it is." I retorted.

"I'm insulted!" Emmett cried. "I interrupt only a _couple_ of times…"

"Only a couple?" Rosalie asked. "More like _several_!"

Carlisle and Esme couldn't help but laugh.

_This is all your fault, Edward!_ Emmett thought.

"Hey, you asked for it!" I replied.

_I'm glad to see you back, Edward,_ I heard go through Carlisle's mind.

""I'm sorry about that, Carlisle." I apologized.

"Yay, you're back!" Alice cheered, and she rushed over to hug me.

"Yes…I'm only sorry that I have _Emmett _to thanks." I laughed.

"It's nothing." Emmett said, pretending to be embarrassed.

"Okay. If you say so." I pretended to take him seriously. "I guess I don't have anyone to thank then." I told Alice.

"What?" Emmett shrieked, "I was joking!"

"Were you?" I asked, "It didn't look like it."

"But you know what I was thinking!"

"I heard nothing that contradicted what you said."

"Yes, you…did…but—that's not—" Emmett spluttered. "Never mind."

"Thought so." I said.

"Alice," Esme said, "Will you continue reading, please? _Before_ Emmett comes up with another clever way to distract us all?"

"Sure thing." Alice said, picking up where she left off.

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**A/N: Sorry I didn't update yesterday...the only available computer was missing almost all of the keys! (caps lock, shift, ctrl, alt, spacebar, and all letters except Q and U!!!) It took me like almost 10 minutes just to type so much as "Thanks for adding "daybreak" to your Favorite Story list!" But, now that I can use a working keyboard, here is some more of Chapter 3!!! Might I mention that if you thought what's beeen going on so far is funny, prepare to laughing so hard you can hardly breathe! Now, without further ado, here is more...!**

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**"My primary motivation behind buying a car, despite the scarcity of my funds, was that I refused to be driven around town in a car with red and blue lights on top. Nothing slows down traffic like a cop."**

"_That's_ for sure," Emmett interrupted.

"Emmett!" Rosalie yelled.

"Oops. Sorry." Emmett said.

**"Charlie gave me an awkward one-armed hug when I stumbled my way off the plane.**

**"'It's good to see you, Bells,' he said, smiling as he automaticallly caught and steadied me. 'You haven't changed much. How's Renée?'**

**"'Mom's fine. It's good to see you too, Dad.' I wasn't allowed to call him Charlie to his face.**

**"I had only a few bags. Most of my Arizona clothes were too permeable for Washington. My mom and I had pooled out resources to supplement my winter wardrobe, but it was still scanty. It all fit easily into the trunk of the cruiser.**

**"'I found a good car for you, really cheap,' he announced when we were strapped in.**

**"'What kind of car?' I was suspicious of the way he said 'good car for _you_' as opposed to just 'good car'."**

"Emmett," I interrupted, hearing him add a mental comment followed by a laugh.

"What?" he asked, then he realized. "Darn it!"

"Exactly." I said. "Alice, please continue."

**"'Well, it's a truck actually, a Chevy.'"**

"We already know what the truck looks like," Rosalie said, with a not-too-slight look of disgust on her her face. "Can we skip this?"

"Alright, alright." Alice said. "Just let me skim it real quick."

She read it to me in her head.

"Thanks," I said.

"You're welcome." And she continued out loud.

**"'You didn't need to do that, Dad. I was going to buy myself a car.'**

**"'I don't mind. I want you to be happy here.' He was looking ahead at the road when he said this. Charlie wasn't comfortable with expressing his emotions out loud. I inherited that from him. So I was looking straight ahead as I responded.**

**"'That's really nice, Dad. Thanks. I really appreciate it.' No need to add that my being happy in Forks was an impossibility--"**

Another mental laugh from Emmett.

**"--He didn't need to suffer along with me. And I never looked a free truck in the mouth--or engine."**

Emmett couldn't help but start laughing out loud at this.

"Emmett," Esme said, "_please_--"

"Shut up!" Alice finished. "Or be forced to leave!"

He quieted down. "Sorry." he said.

**"'Well, now, you're welcome,' he muttered, embarrassed by my thanks.**

**"We exchanged a few more comments on the weather, which was wet, and that was pretty much it for conversation. We stared out the windows in silence.**

**"It was beautiful, of course, I couldn't deny that. Everything was green: the trees, their trunks covered with moss, their branches hanging with a canopy of it, the ground covered with ferns. Even the air filtered down greenly through the leaves.**

**"It was too green--an alien planet--"**

This reminded my of one of her first nights in Forks, when she'd been sleeping and said, "It's too _green_."

**"--Eventually we made it to Charlie's. He still lived in the small, two-bedroom house that he'd bought with my mother in the early days of their marriage. Those were the only kind of days their marriage had--the early ones. There, parked on the street in front of the house that never changed, was my new--well, new to me--truck. It was a faded red--**hang on, I'll skip this.

And she read it to me silently.

**"To my immense surprise, I loved it. I didn't know if it would run, but I could see myself in it. Plus, it was one of those solid iron affairs that never gets damaged--the kind you see at the scene of an accident, paint unscratched, surrounded by the pieces of the foreign car it had destroyed.**

**"'Wow, Dad, I love it! Thanks!' Now my horrific day tommorrow would be just that much less dreadful. I wouldn't be faced with the choice of either walking two miles in the rain to school or accepting a ride in the Chief's cruiser.**

**"'I'm glad you like it,' Charlie said gruffly, embarrassed again.**

**"It took only one trip to get all my stuff upstairs. I got the west bedroom that faced out over the front yard. The room was familiar; it had belonged to me since I was born. The wooden floor, the light blue walls, the peaked ceiling, the yellowed lace curtains of my childhood. The only changes Charlie had ever made were switching the crib for a bed and adding a desk as I grew. The desk now held a secondhand computer, with the phone line for the modem stapled along the floor to the nearest phone jack. This was a stipulation from my mother, so that we could stay in touch easily. The rocking chair from my baby days was still in the corner--"**

The whole time that Alice read Bella's description of her room, I remembered those times when I had been there. I could recall everything in perfect detail.

**"There was only one small bathroom at the top of the stairs, when I would have to share with Charlie. I was trying not to dwell too much on that fact.**

**"One of the bast things about Charlie is he doesn't hover. He left me alone to unpack and get settled, a feat that would have been altogether impossible for my mother. It was nice to be alone, not to have to smile and look pleased; a relief to stare dejectedly out the window at the sheeting rain and let a few tears escape. I wasn't in the mood for a real crying jag. I would save that for bedtime, when I would have to think about the coming morning.**

**"Forks High School had a frightening total of only three hundred and fifty-seven--now fifty-eight--students; there were more than seven hundred people in my junior class alone back home. All of the kids here had grown up together--their grandparents had been toddlers together."**

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**A/N: And now...for my moment of utter BRILLIANCE....!**

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Emmett let out a short laugh, then ducked when Alice turned on him.

"Emmettt!" she yelled. "You're on my last nerve!"

"I'm sorry!" I couldn't help it!" he pleaded.

"Of _course_ you didn't!" Alice said, her voice filled with sarcasm.

"Okay, I'm sorry! I said I'm sorry!" Emmett pleaded again, raising his arms in a sign of mercy.

"Too late!" she said, and she turned to Rosalie and Jasper. "Will you two please remove Emmett from the room?"

"Sure thing." Jasper said, and he and Rosalie grabbed Emmett by his arms and dragged him out of the room and down the hall.

There was the sound of a slamming door, a thud, and then Jasper and Rosalie returned, closing the door quietly behind them.

"Thank you." Alice said quietly, now relieved of the source of interruptions.

**"I would be the new girl from the city, a curiosity, a freak.**

**"Maybe, if I--"**

_"I KNOW A SONG THAT GETS ON EVERYBODY'S NERVES," Emmett yelled from his room, "EVERYBODY'S NERVES, EVERBODY'S NERVES! I KNOW A SONG THAT GETS ON EVERYBODY'S NERVES AND THIS IS HOW IT GOOOOEEESS!!!"_

**"Maybe, if I--"** Alice tried again, but Emmett's "song" drowned out her voice.

_"--A SONG THAT GETS ON EVERYBODY'S NERVES, EVERYBODY'S NERVES, EVERYBODY'S NERVES! I KNOW A--"_

So Alice tried again, yelling out the words.

**"MAYBE, IF I--"**

But Emmett was slightly louder.

_"--EVERYBODY'S NERVES, EVERYBODY'S NERVES, EVERYBODY'S NERVES! I KNOW A SONG THAT--"_

I looked at Carlisle and Esme, who were both fighting the urge to burst out laughing.

They were doing very well, too.

Until Alice screamed.

She roughly handed the book to Esme, and charged out of the room.

"--AND THIS IS HOW IT--"

BANG.

Emmett's high-pitched scream couldn't have been louder.

So, naturally, the rest of us joined in Carlisle and Esme's laughter.

I saw through Alice's thoughts how she was hitting him repeatedly, as he tried to escape, without success.

Once she'd managed to calm down enough to stop, he was on the floor, cowaring in fear. By this time, our laughter had died out.

"Now," we heard her say through the wall, "either you come back and _remain silent_, or you stay here and _remain silent_. Which is it?"

"I _have_ to stay silent no matter what? What kind of a choice is _that_?" we heard Emmett complain.

"_Yours._" she replied.

"Can I please come back, then?"

"Yes, but _remember: remain silent_!"

"Okay!" he wimpered.

Ah, the power of Alice.

A moment later, Alice returned, Emmett trailing behind and looking as though he were expecting for her to round on him again at any mometn.

"Okay," Alice said, "Shall we continue?"

"Here you go, Alice." Esme said, handing back the book.

"Thank you, Esme. "And Alice resumed reading.

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**A/N: I managed to finally get back to writing more! I don't have much yet, but here's what I got! Sorry I took so long! Again, thanks to Angel452 for reminding me!  
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**"Maybe, if I looked like a girl from Phoenix, I could work this to my advantage. But physically, I'd never fit in anywhere. I _should_ be tan, sporty, blond--a volleyball player, or a cheerleader, perhaps--all the things that go with living in the valley of the sun.**

**"Instead, I was ivory-skinned, without even the excuse of blue eyes or red hair, despite the cnstant sunshine. I had always been slender, but soft somehow, obviously not an athlete; I didn't have the necessary hand-eye coordination to play sports without humiliating myself--and harming both myself and anyone else who stood too close.**

**"When I finished putting my clothes in the old ine dresser, I took my bag of bathrooom to clean myself up after the day of travel. I looked at my face in the mirror as I brushed through,,, my tangled, damp hair. Maybe it was the light, but already I looked sallower, unhealthy. My skin could be pretty--it was very clear, almost translucent-looking--but it all depended on color. I had no color here."**

I had to admit I was a little disappointed at this. Bella hadn't thought she was pretty. But I always loved how she didn't seem to _need_ make-up, that her coloring was what ever make-up product was trying to accomplish. And yet she thought she looked "translucent"...

At that moment, Carlisle's phone rang, and immediately Alice stopped reading as he answered it.

"Dr. Cullen?" I heard Dr. Snow's voice ask through the phone.

"Yes?" Carlisle answered, leaving the room.

"We need you to come in..." Dr. Snow continnued.

Everyone turned their attention to me.

"Apparently, there was an avalanche. Nothing serious yet. Just a few people needing to be checked out."

I saw Alice looking for the outcome.

"Yes, everyone will be fine." Alice confirmed.

"So, shall we continue, then?" Rosalie asked.

"Fine." I said, "Alice?"

**"--I was forced to admit that I was lying to myself. It wasn't just physically that I'd never fit in. And if I couldn't find a niche in a school with three thousand people, what were my chances here?**

**"I didn't relate well to people my age."**

I heard a soft laugh from someone--Jasper, maybe?--but didn't bother to figure out who as Alice was still coming out of her recent rampage.

**"Maybe the truth was that I didn't relate well to people, period. Even my mother, who I was closer to than anyone else on the planet, was never in harmony with me, never on exactly the same page. **Poor Bella. Thank goodness she has--er, had--us. Oh, Edward, she must be miserable!"

"We don't know that." I said.

_I can._ Alice thought, involuntarily.

"No, Alice. You promised." I told her silently urging her to do so anyway in my mind despite myself.

_No! You left her to give her a chance to have a normal, human life. You need to follow through with your decision._ I told myself, fighting back the urge to change my orders towards Alice.

_Edward,_ I heard Jasper addressme mentally, _pull yourself together. Either go through with your decision to leave her or give in to your desire to be with her again. You're falling apart._

I nodded in his general direction. _Just give Bella a bit more time before you check on her._

_There you go,_ Jasper thought in his way of a small congratulations.

I couldn't think of a good enough response to that.

"Alice?" Why don't you continue reading?" I heard Esme ask.

**"Sometimes I wondered if I was seeing tghe same things through my eyes that the rest of the world was seeing through theirs--"**

_~FLASHBACK~_

_""You don't see yourself very clearly, you know. I'll admit you're dead-on about the bad things," I chuckled, "but you didn't hear what every human male was thinking on your first day."_

_Bella blinked, and I could see a small bit of surprise show on her face. "I don't believe it..."she mumbled quietly._

_"Trust me just this once--you are the opposite of ordinary."_

_~END FLASHBACK~_

**"--Maybe there was a glitch in my brain.--"**

_~FLASHBACK~_

_"Why do you think you can't hear me?" Bella asked me._

_I looked at her, a little unsure of how to answer at first._

_"I don't know," I murmured. "The only guess I have is that maybe your mind doesn't work the same way the rest of theirs do. Like your thoughts are on the AM frequency and I'm only gettinng FM." I grinned, slightly amused at my explanation._

_"My mind doesn't work right? I'm a freak?"_

_"I hear voices in my mind and you're worried that you're the freak," I laughed._

_~END FLASHBACK~_

**"But the cause didn't matter. All that mattered was the effect. And tomorrow would be just the beginning."**

"You know as _interesting_ as this is, I could be doing other things. See you guys later." Rosalie said, befor Alice could continue reading.

"Okay, Rose." I said as she left the room.

"Emmett, are you coming with me?" Rose asked from down the hall.

"I saw and heard Emmett batle with himself for a few moments before finally saying, "No, thanks, Rose. Maybe later."

"Alice?" I asked.

**"I didn't sleep well that night, even after I was done crying. The constant _whoosh_ing of the rain and wind across the roof wouldn't fade into the background. I pulled the faded old quilt over my head, and later added the pillow, too. But I couldn't fall asleepp until after midnight, when the rain finally settled into a quieter drizzle.**

**"Thick fog was all I could feel the claustrophobia creeping up on me. You could never see the sky here; it was like a cage.**

**"Breakfast with Charlie was a quiet event. He wished me good luck at school. I thanked him, knowing his hope was wasted. Good luck tended to avoid me."**

_~FLASHBACK~_

_"You're not a magnet for accidents--that's not a broad enough classification. You are a magnet for trouble. If there is anything dangerous with a ten-mile radius, it will invariably find you."_

_~END FLASHBACK~_

**"Charlie left first, off to the police station that was his wife and family. After he left, I sat at the old square oak table in one of the three unmatching chairs and examined his small kitchen, with its dark paneled walls, bright yellow cabinets, and white linoleum floor. Nothing was changed. My mother had painted the cabinets eighteen years ago in an attempt to bring somme sunshine into the house. Over the small fireplace in the adjoining handkerchief-sized family room was a row of pictures. First a wedding picture of Charlie and my mom in Las Vegas, then one of the three of us in the hospital after I was born, taken by a helpful nurse, followed by the procession of my school pictures up to last year's. These were embarassing to look at--I would have to see what I could do to get Charlie to put them somewhere else, at least whiel I was living here."**

We all couldn't help but laugh a little at this.

**"It was impossible, being in this house, not to realise that Charlie had never gotten over my mom. It made me uncomfortable.**

**"I didn't want to be too early to school, but I couldn't stay in the house anymore. I donned my jacket--which had the feel of a biohazard suit--"**

Emmett sniggered.

Alice glared at him.

"_Silent_!" she hissed, and then she resumed reading.

**"--and headed out into the rain.**

**"It was just drizzling still, not enough to soak me through immediately as I reached for the house key that was always hidden under the eaves by the door, and locked up. The sloshing of my new waterproof boots was unnerving. I missed the normal crunch of grave as I walked. I couldn't pause and admire my truck again as I wanted I was in a hurry to get out of the misty wet that swirled around my head and clung to my hair under my hood.**

**"Inside the truck, it was nice and dry. Either Billy or Charlie had obviously cleaned it up, but the tan upholstered seats still smelled faintly fo tobacco, gasoline, and peppermint. The engine started quickly, to my relief, but loudly, roaring to life and then idling at top volume. Well, a truck this old was bound to have a flaw. The antique radio worked, a plus that I hadn't expected.**

**"Finding the school wasn't difficult, though I'd never been there before. The school was, like most other things, just off the highway. It was not obvious that it was a school; only the sign, which declared it to be the Forks High School made me stop."**

"Why is that not obvious?" I wondered aloud.

~FLASHBACK~

Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Alice, and I parked in front of the Front Office building of Forks High School.

"Well," I murmured, "here starts once another four years of high school."

My siblings didn't reply as we exited my silver Volvo. We'd decided on it as the one we would drive to and from school as it would do the best job at helping us _try_ to blend in. Even so, it still stuck out compared to the rest of the cars in the student parking lot around the corner. All of the cars here were several years older than even Emmett's seven-year-old jeep.

~END FLASHBACK~

**"It looked like a collection of matching houses, built with maroon-colored bricks. There was so many trees and shrubs I couldn't see its size at first. Where was the feel of the institution? I wondered notalgically. Where were the chain-linked fences, the metal detectors?**

**"I parked in front of the first building , which had a small sign over the door reading FRONT OFFICE. No one else was parked there, so I was sure it was off limits, but I decided I would get directiones instead of circing around in the rain like an idiot. I stepped unwilling out of the toasty truck cab and walked down a little stone path lined with dark hedges. I took a deep breath before opening the door."**

~FLASHBACK~

We entered the front office. Across the room a long counter. Behind the counter was a woman, who looked up to greet us when she heard us open the door. I heard her thoughts as she took in our appearance. Of coourse, she was stunned, like every other human before her.

"Can I help you?" she asked, once she'd managed to stop staring.

"Yes. I'm Alice Cullen, and these are my brothers, Edward and Emmett Cullen," Alice said, pointing to each of us in turn. "And this is Rosalie and Jasper Hale."

"Oh, yes, of course," she said, and she fumbled around with some papers on her desk, and then handed us our paperson ther desk, and then handed us our papers. Then she went on to remind us to get ur slips signed by each of our teachers and then to return them to her at the end of the day.

~END FLASHBACK~

**"Inside, it was brightly lit, and warmer than I'd hoped. The office was small; a little waiting area with padded folding chairs, orange-flecked commercial carpet, notices and awards cluttering the walls, a big clock ticking loudly. Plants grew everywhere in large, plastic pots, as if there wasn't enough greenery outside. The room was cut in half by a long counter, one of which was manned by a large, red-haired woman wearing glasses. She was wearing a purple t-shirt, which immediately made me feel overdressed.**

**"The red-haired woman looked up. 'Can I help you?'**

**"''I'm Isabella Swan,' I informed her, and saw the immediate awareness light her eyes. I was expected, a topic of gossip no doubt. Daughter of the Chief's flighty ex-wife, come home at last.**

**"'Of course,'" she said. She dug through a precariously stacked pile of documents on her desk till she found the ones she was looking for. 'I have you schedule right here, and a map of the school' She brought several sheets to the counter to show me.**

**"She went thrugh my classes for me, highlighting the best route to each on the map, and gave me a slip to have each teacher sign, which I was to bring back at the end of the day. She smiled at me and hoped, like Charlie, that I would like it here in Forks. I smiled back as convincingly as I could.**

**"When I went back out to my truck, other students were starting to arrive. I drove around the school, following the line of traffic. I was glad to see that most of the cars were older like mine, nothing flashy. At home I'd lived in one of the few lower-income neighborhoods that were included in the Paradise Valley District. It was a common thing to see a new Mercedes or Porshe in the student lot. The nicest car here was a shiny Volvo, and it stood out. Still, I cut the engine as son as I was in a spot, so that the thunderous volume wouldn't draw attention to me.**

**"I looked at the map in the truck, trying to memorize it now; hopefully I wouldn't have to walk around with it stuck in front of my nose all day. I stuffed everything in my bag, slung the strap over my shoulder, and sucked in a huge breath. I can do this, I lied to myself feebly. No one was going to bite me."**

We all burst out laughing at the irony of the statement.

**"I finally exhaled and stepped out of the truck.**

**"I kept my face pulled back into my food as I walked to the sidewalk, crowded with teenagers. My plain black jacket didn't stand out, I noticed with relief.**

**"Once I got around the cafeteria, building three was easy to spot. A large back "3" was painted on a white square on a white square on the east corner. I felt my breathing gradually creeping toward hyperventilation as I approached the door. I tried holding my breath as I followed two unisex raincoats through the door..."**

~FLASHBACK~

Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett, who were sophomores this year, walked off together to building two for American Literature. Meanwhile, Alice and I made our way to building six for Geography.

Just inside the classroom was a coat hanger, already covered by three coats belonging to the other students in the class. We hung our coats up along with another girl. When the teacher, Mr. Jefferson, noticed our entrance, he beckoned us over to his desk.

"You must be Alice and Edward Cullen." Mr. Jefferson said.

"Yes, that's us." Alice said cheerfully.

"Welcome to Forks." Mr. Jefferson said. He ducked behind his desk and then reappeared with some papers for us. "Here's everything you should need. Well, apart from you textbooks, which I should have for you within the next few days." He quickly pointed us to two empty desks near the back. Alice chose the one by the wall, leaving me the one next to the girl that came in with us.

Almost as soon as I'd sat down, the girl turned to me.

"Hi!" she said, "I'm Jessica." She held out her hand for a handshake.

* * *

**A/N: DUN DUN DUN!!!! Sorry but I couldn't help but to stop there for now....haha! Hope you're still enjoying it! Also, in reference to the last few flashbacks, I'm thinking that (once I finish this chapter at least) that I'll start a fanfic of when the Cullens first moved to Forks. But it'll go beyond their first day and won't havve gaps like these flashbacks...What do you guys think? Tell me what your opinions are! I'll try to have more soon! Also, please REVIEW!! I love the feedback and (if you have already reviewed) send me a message! Also, any ideas for things to add are ABSOLUTELY WELCOME!!! Thanks!**


	4. twilight: first sight continued

daybreak

3. twilight: first sight (continued)

Previously…

…_He quickly pointed us to two empty seats near the back. Alice chose the one by the wall, leaving the one next to the girl that came in with us._

_Almost as soon as I'd sat down, the girl turned to me._

"_Hi!" she said, "I'm Jessica." She held out her hand for a handshake._

"_Hello." I replied, not shaking her hand._

_She waited a moment or two before dropping her hand._

"_So," she tried again. "What's you name?"_

"_Edward Cullen." I said._

"_That's a cool name." she said. "Like, usually Edward is a really __uncool__ name. Like who would name their kid Edward anymore, right? Its so last century. But Edward Cullen is actually __really__ cool…"_

_I tried to block out the rest of her babbling, but it proved difficult due to my excellent hearing and ability to hear her thoughts, which mirrored her babbling._

_I was ever so thankful when Mr. Jefferson called on her and she became silent._

_~END FLASHBACK~_

"…**I took the slip up to the teacher, a tall, balding man whose desk had a nameplate identifying him as Mr. Mason. He gawked at me when he saw my name—not an encouraging response—and of course I flushed tomato red. But at least he sent me to an empty desk at the back without introducing me to the class. It was harder for my new classmates to stare at me in the back, but somehow, they managed. I kept my eyes down on the reading list the teacher had given me. It was fairly basic: Brontë, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Faulkner. I'd already read everything. That was comforting…and boring. I wondered if my mom would send me my folder of old essays, or if she would think that was cheating."**

_Well, doesn't __that__ make her sound like a bookworm, _Emmett thought, so Alice couldn't hear and hurt him for it. _Sound like anyone else we know, __Eddie__?_

I growled at him.

"**When the bell rang, a nasal buzzing sound, a gangly boy with skin problems and hair black as an oil slick leaned across the aisle to talk to me.**

"'**You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?' He looked like the overly helpful, chess club type.**

"'**Bella,' I corrected. Everyone within a three-seat radius turned to look at me.**

"'**Where's your next class?' he asked.**

"**I had to check in my bag. 'Um, Government, with Jefferson, in building six.'**

"**There was nowhere to look without meeting curious eyes.**

"'**I'm headed toward building four, I could show you the way…' Definitely overly-helpful. 'I'm Eric,' he added.**

"**I smiled tentatively. 'Thanks.'**

"**We got our jackets and headed out into the rain, which had picked up. I could have sworn several people behind us were walking close enough to eavesdrop. I hoped I wasn't getting paranoid."**

This time it was Jasper who laughed. And Alice who growled.

"'**So, this is a lot different than Phoenix, huh?' he asked.**

"'**Very.'**

"'**It doesn't rain much there, does it?'**

"'**Three or four times a year.'**

"'**Wow, what must that be like?' he wondered.**

"'**Sunny,' I told him.**

"'**You don't look very tan.'**

"'**My mother is part albino.'"**

Alice burst out laughing with the rest of us. Bella had always been amusing.

"**He studied my face apprehensively, and I sighed. It looked like clouds and a sense of humor didn't mix."**

"Are you serious?" I asked. "He didn't find that at all funny? Now that's just _sad_."

"Agreed." Emmett said. "That Eric is a downright _idiot_."

"**A few months of this and I'd forget how to use sarcasm."**

"Not likely," Jasper commented.

"True, that," Emmett said.

We all stared at him confused.

_What the heck?_ I heard Alice say in her head, too confused to actually say it aloud.

"What?" Emmett asked innocently.

"Never mind." I said, "Alice, just keep reading."

"Actually, I'm think I'm going to do some gardening." Esme said.

"Bye, Esme," said Alice.

"Have fun." She replied.

"**We walked back around the cafeteria, to the south buildings by the gym. Eric walked me right to the door, though it was clearly marked.**

"'**Well, good luck,' he said as I touched the handle. 'Maybe we'll have some other classes together.' He sounded hopeful.**

"**I smiled at him vaguely and went inside.**

"**The rest of the morning passed in about the same fashion. My trigonometry teacher, Mr. Varner, who I would have hated anyway just because of the subject he taught, was the only one who made me stand in front of the class and introduce myself. I stammered, blushed, and tripped over my own boots on the way to my seat."**

"Ah," I sighed," classic Bella."

_~FLASHBACK~_

_"Have fun, then." Bella said, trying (and failing) to sound wholehearted._

_"I'll try." I grinned. "And you try to be safe, please."_

_"Safe in Forks--what a challenge." She rolled her eyes._

_"For you it is a challenge." I gave her a warning look. "Promise."_

_"I promise to try to be safe." she said as if she were reciting lines from a script. "I'll do the laundry tonight--that ought to be fraught with peril."_

_"Don't fall in," I joked._

_~END FLASHBACK~_

**"After two classes, I started to reconize several of the faces in each classs. There was always someone braver than the others who would introduce themselves and ask me questions about how I was liking Forks. I tried to be diplomatic, but mostly I just lied a lot. At least I never needed the map**.

**"One girl sat next to me in both Trig and Spanish, and she walked with me to the cafeteria for lunch."**

"Yes, we're _finally_ gonna be included!" Emmett exclaimed.

"I know!" Alice said. **"She was tiny, several inches shorter than my five feet four inches, but her wildly curly dark hair made up a lot of the difference between our heights. I couldn't rmember her name, so I smiled and nodded as she prattled about teachers and classes. I didn't try to keep u. I didn't try to keep up.**

**"We sat at the end of a full table with several of her friends, who she introduced to me. The boy from English, Eric, waved at me from across the room.**

**"It was there, sitting in the lunchroom, trying to make conversation with seven curious strangers, that I first saw them."**

"_FINALLY!_" Emmett exploded.

"Jeez, Emmett! Could you _be_ any _louder_?!" Jasper asked.

"Actually," he replied, taking a deep breath.

"Don't--even--_think_--about it!" Alice warned.

Emmett made a show of zipping his lips shut.

**"They were sitting in--" **Alice paused. "We shold bring everyone back for this, don't you think, Edward?"

"Yeah, sure." I said, and raised my voice only a fraction to call to them. "Esme? Rosalie?"

They were there only two seconds later.

"We thought you'd want to listen to this part." Alice explained.

"Sure, of course." said Esme.

She and Rosalie moved over to sit on my bed and listen.

**"They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I sat as possible in the long room. There were five of them. They weren't talking, and they weren't eating, thought theyeach had a tray of untouched food in front of them. They weren't gawking at me, unlike most of the other students, so it was safe to stare at them without fear of meeting an excessively interested pair of eyes. But it was none of these things that caught, and held, my attention.**

**"They didn't look anything alike. Of the three boys, one was big--muscled like a serious weight lifter, with dar, curly hair."**

"Yay, I'm first!" Emmett squealed.

"Yeah, yeah," Rosalie said. "Don't let it go to your head.

"Too late!" Emmett said and laughed like a mischeivious child.

**"Another was taller, leaner, but still muscuar and honey-blond." **Alice continued. "Jasper, that's you!"

"Yeah, yeah, I won't let go to my head." Jasper joked.

"Ha ha, very funny." Alice shot back. **"The last was lanky, less bulky, with untidy, bronze-colored hair. He was more boyish than the others, who looked like they could be in college, or even teachers here rather than students."**

"No fair!" Emmett complained. "How come Eddie gets more description?"

"Um," Alice scoffed.

"Isn't it obvious?" I finished.

"Oh, yeah, she's your 'soulmate' and whatever..." he replied in a mocking voice. "But what kind of an excuse is that? I mean, just look at my awesomeness!"

We all _tried_ to cover our laughter...and failed--_epically_.

"Okay, then," Alice said, once she'd managed to catch her breath, only to break out into another round of giggles, which made the rest of us start over again, theis time including Emmett.

This went on for several minutes.

Finally, once all of us had calmed down, Alice continued reading.

**"The girls were opposites. The tall one was statuesque. She had a beautiful figure, the kind you saw on the cover of the _Sports Illustrated_ swimsuit issue, the kind that made every girl around her take a hit on her self0esteem just by being in the same room. Her hair was golden, gently waving to the middle of her back."**

"You were saying?" Emmett said, referring to earlier. "look who's got the description _now_."

"Oh, shut it, Emmett," Rose said, shaking her head disapprovingly in his direction.

"_Anywhoo_...if you're finished?" Alice asked.

"Sorry." Emmett and Rosalie apologized.

**"The short girl was pixielike--" Alice started.**

"This could _only_ be Alice," Jasper interrupted with a chuckle.

**"--thin in the extreme, with small features. Her hair was a deep black, cropped short and pointing in every direction.**

**"And yet, they were all exactly alike. Every one of them was chalky pale, the palest of all the students living in this sunless town. Paler then me, the albino."**

Emmett snorted in result of his failed attempt to not laugh.

**"They all had very dark eyes despite the range in hair tones. They also had dark shadows under those eyes--purplish, bruiselike shadows. As if they were all suffering from a sleepless night, or almost done recovering from a broken nose. Though their noses, all their features, were straight, perfect, angular."**

"Well, gee, do you think she noticed us?" Jasper joked. "Personally, I'm voting no."

**"But all this is not why I couldn't look away." Alice continued.**

**"I stared because their faces, so different, so similar, were all devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful."**

"Aha!" Emmett shouted. "The infamous fascination! I _knew_ it was in there _somewhere_!"

**"They were faces you never expected to see except perhaps on the airbrushed pages of a fashion magazine. Or painted by an old master as the face of an angel."**

I laughed. "Carlisle..." I said, remembering the old painting of Carlisle, Aro, Caius, and Marcus as angels in Rome hanging in Carlisle's office.

**"It was hard to decide who was the most beautiful--"**

"Durm roll." Emmett said, slapping his knees repeatedly. "And the winner is..."

**"--maybe the perfect blond girl, or the bronze-haired boy."**

"Rosalie and Edward!" Emmett finished.

Then he froze.

"Wait a minute! _I'm_ supposed to be in there somewhere!" he complained.

"Too bad, maybe next time." Rose consoled him. "Go ahead and continue, Alice."

**"They were all looking away--away from each other, away from the other students, away from anything in particular as far as I could tell. As I watched, the small girl rose with her tray--unopened soda, unbitten apple--and walked away with a quick, graceful lope that belonged on a runway..."**

_~FLASHBACK [**MIDNIGHT SUN EXCERPT**]~_

Edward_. Alice called my name in her head, and had my attention at once._

_My head didn't turn. Alice and I were good at these private conversations. It was rare that anyone caught us. I kept my eyes on the lines in the plaster._

How is he holding up?_ she asked me._

_I frowned, just a small change in the set of my mouth. Nothing that would tip the others off. I could easily be frowning out of boredom._

_"Alice's mental tone was alarmed now, and I saw in her mind that she watching Jasper in her peripheral vision. _Is there any danger?_ She searched ahead, into the immediate future, skimming through visions of monotony for the source behind mhy frown._

_I turned my head slowly to the left, as if looking at the bricks of the wall, sighed, and then to the right, back to the cracks in the ceiling. Only Alice knew I was shaking my head._

_She relaxed. _Let me know if it gets too bad.

_I moved only my eyes, up to the ceiling above, and back down._

Thanks for doing this.

_I was glad I couldn't answer aloud. What would I say? 'My pleasure'? It was hardly that. I didn't enjoy listening to Jasper's struggles. Was it really necessary to experiment like this? Wouldn't the safer path be to just admit that he might never be able to handle the thirst that he might never be able to handle the thirst the way the rest of us could, and not push his limits? Why flirt with disaster?_

_It had been two weeks since our last hunting trip. That was not an immensely difficult time span for the rest of us. A little uncomfortable occasionally--if a human walked too close, if the wind blew the wrong way. But humans rarely walked too close. Their instincts told them what their conscious minds would never understand: we were dangerous._

_Jasper was very dangerous right now._

_At that moment, a small girl paused at the end of the closest table to ours, stopping to talk to a friend. She tossed her short, sandy hair, running her fingers through it. The heaters blew her scent in our direction. I was used to the way that scent made me feel--the dry ache in my throat, the hollow yearn in my stomach, the automatic tightening of my muscles, the exces flow of venom in my mouth..._

_This was all quite normal, usually easy to ignore. It was harder just now, with the feelings stronger, doubled, as I monitored Jasper's reaction. Twin thirsts, rather than just mine._

_Jasper was letting his imagination get away from him. He was picturing it--picturing himself getting up from his seat next to Alice and going to stand beside the little girl. Thinking of leaning down and in, as if he were going to whisper of her throat. Imagining how the hot flow of her pulse beneath the fine skin would feel under his mouth..._

_I kicked his chair._

_He met my gaze for a minute, and then looked down. I could hear shame and rebellion war in his head._

_"Sorry," Jasper muttered._

_I shrugged._

_"You weren't going to do anything," Alice murmured to him, soothing his chagrin. "I could see that."_

_I fought back the grimace that would give her lie away. We had to stick together, Alice and I. We protected each other's secrets._

_"It helps a little if you think of them as people," Alice suggested, her high, musical voice too fast for human ears to understand, if any had been close enough to hear. "Her name is Whitney. She had a baby sister she adores. Her mother invited Esme to that garden party, remember?"_

_"I know who she is," Jasper said curtly. He turned away to stare out one of the small windows that were spaced just under the eaves around the long room. His tone ended the conversation. He would have to hunt tonight. It was ridiculous to take risks like this, trying to test his strength, to build his endurance. Jasper should just accept his limitations and work within them. His former habits were not conducive to our chosen lifestyle; he shouldn't push himself this way._

_Alice sighed silently and stood, taking her tray of food--her prop, as it were--with her and leaving him alone._

_~END FLASHBACK/**EXCERPT**~_

**"...amazed at her lithe dancer's step, till she dumped her tray and glided through the back door, faster than I would have thought possible. My eyes darted back to the others, who sat unchanging.**

**"'Who are _they_?' I asked the girl from my Spanish class, whose name I'd forgotten.**

**"As she looked up to see who I meant--though already knowing, probably, from my tone--suddenly he looked at her, the thinner one, the boyish one, the youngest, perhaps. He looked at my neighbor for just a fraction of a second, and then his dark eyes flickered to mine.**

**"He looked away quickly, more quickly than I could, though in a flush of embarrassment I dropped my eyes at once. In that brief flash of a glance, his face held nothing of interest--it was as if she had called his name, and he'd looked up in involuntary response, already having decided not to answer.**

**"My neighbor giggled in embarrassment, looking at the table like I did.**

**"'That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife.' She said this under her breath.**

**"I glanced sideways at the beautiful boy, who was looking at his tray now, picking a bagel to pieces with long, pale fingers. His mouth was moving very quickly--"**

"_Jeez!_ That's paying a bit _too_ much attention right off the bat, don't you think?" Jasper said, grimacing a bit.

"I'd _told_ you guys she was much more attentive than your average human." I challenged. "But _no_, you were _so_ sure I was overexaggerating. _Now_ who's right?" I continued, loving the chance to prove him wrong.

_"Anywhoo_," Emmett butted in loudly, then froze when we all turned out attention to him. "I got nothing." he admitted.

I sighed.

"How about 'let's continue reading'?" Alice said.

"Go ahead, Alice," Esme said.

**"--his perfect lips--"**

Sniggers from Jasper and Emmett, followed by glares by the three girls.

**"--lips barely opening. The other three still looked away, and yet I felt he was speaking quietly to them**."

"Well, no _duh_, Sherlock," Emmett laughed.

"Emmett," Alice said amist his laughing, "you're starting to get on my nerves again."

He zipped his lips immediately.

"Thank you." she said. **"Strange, unpopular names, I thought. The kinds of names grandparents had. But maybe that was in vogue here--small town names? I finally remembered that my neighbor was called Jessica--"**

"Horribly annoying girl," I shuddered.

The rest of my family shuddered a little too, remembering.

_~FLASHBACK **[MIDNIGHT SUN EXCERPT]**~_

Of course she's already crushing on the Cullens.

_I recognized the 'voice'. Jessica Stanley--it had been a while since she'd bothered me with her internal chatter. What a relief it had been when she'd gotten over her misplaced infatuation. It used to be nearly impossible to escape her constant, ridiculous daydreams. I'd wished, at the time, that I could expllain to her __exactly__ what would ahave happened if my lips, and the teeth behind them, had gotten anywhere near her. That would have silenced those annoying fatasies. The thought of her reaction almost made me smile._

_~END FLASHBACK/**EXCERPT**~_

**"--a perfectly common name. There were two girls named Jessica in my History classback home.**

**"'They are...very nice looking.'--" **Alice stuggled a little at this as she was fighting back the urge to laugh, like the rest of us. **"--I str-str-ugg-led with the con-con-spic-cuous under-sta-statement."**

"Here, Alice," Rosalie offered, taking the book from a giggling Alice, "let me read."

She started where Alice left off.

**"'Yes!' Jessica agreed with another giggle. 'They're all _together_ though--Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they _live_ together.' Her voice held all the shock and condemnation of the town. I thought critically. But, if I was being honest, I had to admit that even in Phoenix, it would cause gossip.**

**"'Which ones are the Cullens?' I asked. 'They don't look related...'**

**"'Oh, they're not. Dr. Cullen is really yound, in his twenties or early thirties. They're all adopted. The Hales _are_ brother and sister, twins--the blondes--and they're foster children.**

**"'They look a little old for foster children.'**

**"'The are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's their aunt or something like that.'**

**"'That's really kind of nice--for them to take care of all those kids like that, when they're so young and everything.'**

**"'I guess so,' Jessica admitted reluctantly, and I got the impression that she didn't like the doctor and his wife for some reason. With the glances she was throwing at their adopted children, I would presume the reson was jealousy**--You _think_?--**'I think that Mrs. Cullen can't have kids, though,' she added, as if that lessened their kindness.**

"Ah," said Esme rather wistfully, "if only it weren't true..."

Rose gave her a tight hug. "But at least you have us."

"Yes, I do have you five." Esme smiled. "Go on ahead and continue reading, Rose."

**"Throughout all this conversation, my eyes flickered again and again to the table where the strange family sat. They continued to look at the walls and not eat.**

**"'Have they always lived in Forks?' I asked."**

"Yeah, right," Jasper said. "Because they _so_ wouldn't notice something different about us."

**"Surely I would have noticed them on one of my summers here.**

**"'No,' she said in a vouice that implied it should be obvious, even to a new arrival like me. 'They just moved down two years ago from somewhere in Alaska.'**

**"I felt a surge of pity, and relief. Pity because, as beautiful as they were, they were outsiders, clearly not accepted. Relief that I wasn't the only newcomer here, and certainly not the most interesting by any standard.**

**"As I examined them, the youngest, one of the Cullens, looked up and met my gaze, this time with evident curiosity in his expression."**

"What were you doing?" Alice asked me.

"I was trying to figure out what her impression of us was." I answered. "But I couldn't hear her thoughts, which surprised me, of course."

_~FLASHBACK **[MIDNIGHT SUN EXCERPT]**_~

_Jessica Stanley is giving the new Swan girl all the dirty laundry on the Cullen clan," I murmured to Emmett as a distraction._

_He chuckled under his breath. _I hope she's making it good_, he thought._

_"Rather unimaginative, actually. Just the barest hint of scandal. Not an ounce of horror. I'm a little disappointed."_

And the new girl? Is she disappointed in the gossip as well?

_I listened to hear what this new girl, Bella, though of Jessica's story. What did she see when she looked at the strange, chalky-skinned family that was universally avoided?_

_It was sort of my responsibility to know her reaction. I acted as a lookout, for lack of a better word, for my family. To protect us. If anyone ever grew suspicious, I could give us early warning and an easy retreat. We simply disappeared, to become no more than a frightening memory..._

_I heard nothing, though I listened close beside where Jessica's frivolous internal monologue continued to gush. It was as if there was no one sitting beside her. How peculiar, had the girl moved? That didn't seem likely, as Jessica was still babbling to her. I looked up to check, feeling off-balence. Checking on what my extra 'hearing' could tell me--it wasn't something I ever had to do._

_Again, my gaze locked on those same wide brown eyes. She was sitting right where she had been before, and looking at us, a natural thing to be doing, I supposed, as Jessica was still regaling her with the local gossip about the Cullens._

_Thinking about us, would be normal._

_But I couldn't hear a whisper._

_Inviting warm red stained her cheeks as she looked down, away from the embarrassing gaffe of getting caught staring at a stranger. It was good that Jasper was still gazing out the window. I didn't like to imagine what that easy pooling of blood would do to his control._

_The emotions had been as clear on her face as if they were spelled out in words across her forehead: surprise, as she unknowingly absorbed the subtle differences between her kind and mine, curiosity, as she listened to Jessica's tale, and something more...fascination? It wouldn't be the first time. We were beautiful to them, our intended prey. Then, finally, embarrassment as I caught her staring at me._

_And yet, though her thoughts had been as clear in her odd eyes, I could hear nothing but silence from the place she was sitting. Nothing at all._

_I felt a moment of unease._

_This was nothing I'd ever encountered before. Was there something wrong with me? I felt exactly the same as I always did. Worried, I listened harder._

_All the voices I'd been blocking were suddenly shouting in my head..._

_~END FLASHBACK/**EXCERPT**~_

**"As I looked swiftly away, it seemed to me that his glance held some kind of unmet expectation.**

**"'Which one is the boy with the reddish brown hair?' I asked. I peeked at him from the corner of my eye, and he was still staring at me, but not gawking like the other students had today--he had a slightly frustrated expression. I looked down again.**

**"'That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him.' She sniffed, a clear case of sour grapes. I wondered when he'd turned her down.**

**"I bit my lip to hide my smile. Then I glanced at him again. His face was turned away, but I thought his cheek appeared lifted, as if he were smiling, too.**

**"After a few more minutes, the four of them left the table together. They were all noticeably graceful--even the big, brawny one. It was unsettling to watch. The one named Edward didn't look at me again.**

**"I sat at the table with Jessica and her friends longer than I would have if I'd been sitting alone. I was anxious not to be late for class on my first day. One of my new acquaintances, who considerately reminded me that her name was Angela, had Biology II with me the next hour. We walked to classs together in silence. She was shy, too.**

"Oh, I'm really _not_ looking forward to this part." I groaned. I didn't want to have to listen to how I'd treated her that first day. I'd been so cruel.

"Too bad." Emmett said.

"Emmett!" Rose said, "Be nice to him!"

"Sorry, Eddie," Emmett apologized childishly.

"Sure, sure," I mumbled. "Just read it and get it over with, please, Rose."

"Are you sure?" Rose asked me.

"Yes," I said, trying to sound more honest in my words. "Just read it."

She sighed and started where she left off.

**"When we entered the classroom, Angela went to sit at a black-topped lab table exactly like the ones I was used to. She already had a neighbor. In fact, all the tables were filled but one. Next to the center aisle, I recognized Edward Cullen by his unusual hair, sitting next to that single open seat.**

**"As I walked down the aisle to introduce myself to the teacher and get my slip signed, I was watching him surreptitiously. Just as I passed, he suddenly went rigid in his seat. He stared at me again, meeting my eyes with the strangest expression on his face--it was hostile, furious. I looked away quickly, shocked, going red again. I stumbled over a book in the walkway and had to catch myself on the edge of a table. The girl sitting there giggled.**

**"I'd noticed that his eyes were black--coal black.**

**"Mr. Banner signed my slip and handed me a book with no nonsense about introductions. I could tell we were going to get along. Of course, he had no choice but to send me to the one open seat in the middle of the room. I kept my eyes down as I went to sit by _him_, bewildered by the antagonistic stare he'd given me.**

**"I didn't look up as I set my book on the table and took my seat, but I saw his posture change from the corner of my eye. He was leaning away from me, sitting on the extreme edge of his chair and averting his face like he smelled something bad. Inconspicuously, I sniffed my hair. It smelled like strawberries, the scent of my favorite shampoo. It seemed an innocent enough odor. I let my hair fall over my right shoulder, making a dark curtain between us, and tried to pay attention to the teacher.**

**"Unfortunately the lecture was on cellular anatomy, something I'd already studied. I took notes carefully anyway, always looking down.**

**"I couldn't stop myself from peeking occasionally through the screen of my hair at the strange boy next to me. During the whole class, he never relaxed his stiff position on the edge of his chair, sitting as far from me as possible. I could see his hand on his left leg was clenched into a fist, tendons standing out under his light skin. He wasn't nearly as slight as he'd looked next to his burly brother.**

**"The class seemed to drag on longer than the others. Was it because the day was finally coming to a close, or because I was waiting for his tight fist to loosen? It never did; he continued to sit so still it looked like he wasn't breathing. What was wrong with him? Was this his normal behavior? I questioned my judgement on Jessica's bitterness at lunch today. Maybe she was not as resentful as I'd thought.**

**"It couldn't have anything to do with me. He didn't know me from Eve.**

**"I peeked up at him one more time, and regretted it. He was glaring down at me again, his black eyes full of revulsion. As I flinched away from him, shrinking against my chair, the phrase _if looks could kill_ suddenly ran through my mind.**

**"At that moment, the bell rang loudly, making me jump, and Edward Cullen was out of his seat. Fluidly he rose--he was much taller than I'd thought--his back to me, and he was out the door before anyone else was out of their seat.**

**"I sat frozen in my seat, staring blankly after him. He was so mean. It wasn't fair. I began gathering up my things slowly, trying to block the anger that filed me, for fear my eyes would tear up. For some reason, my temper was hardwired to my tear ducts. I usually cried when I was angry, a humiliating tendency.**

**"'Aren't you Isabella Swan?' a male voice asked.**

**"I looked up to see a cute, baby-faced boy, his pale blond hair carefully gelled into orderly spikes, smiling at me in a friendly way. He obviously didn't think I smelled bad.**

**"'Bella,' I corrected him, with a smile.**

**"'Hi, I'm Mike.'**

**"'Hi, Mike.'**

**"'Do you need any help finding your next class?'**

**"'I'm headed to the gym, actually. I think I can find it.'**

**"'That's my next class, too.' He seemed thrilled, though it wasn't that big of a coincidence in a school this small.**

**"We walked to class together; he was a chatterer--he suppplied most of the conversation, which made it easy for me. He'd lived in California till he was ten, so he knew how I felt about the sun. It turned out he was in my English class also. He was the nicest person I'd met today.**

**"But as we were entering the gym, he asked, 'So, did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or what? I've never seen him act like that.'"**

The solemn air in the room broke wtih everyone's laughter. The thought of me being "stabbed with a pencil" was comical.

Rose took a deep calming breath and started again.

**"I cringed. So I wasn't the only one who had noticed. And, apparently, that wasn't Edward Cullen's usual behavior. I decided to play dumb."**

And so began another round of cackling from Emmett.

**"'Was that the boy I sat next to in Biology?' I asked artlessly.**

**"'Yes,' he said. 'He looked like he was in pain or something.'"**

"You have _no idea_," I hissed at Mike in the book.

**"'I don't know,' I responded. 'I never spoke to him.'**

**"'He's a weird guy.' Mike lingered by me instead of heading to the dressing room. 'If I were lucky enough to sit by you, I would have talked to you.'"**

I felt the all-too-familiar surge of anger towards Mike again as I heard his comments to Bela, even though they had occurred over a year ago.

**"I smiled at him before walking through the girls' locker room door. He was friendly and clearly admiring. But it wasn't enough to ease my irritation.**

**"The Gym teacher, Coach Clapp, found me a uniform but didn't make me dress down for today's class. At home, only two years of P.E. were required. Here, P.E. was mandatory all four years.**

**"I watched four volleyball games running simultaneously. Remembering how many injuries I had sustained--and inflicted--playing volleyball--"**

_~FLASHBACK~_

_I was standing by the door to the Gym, waiting, when I finally saw Bella walk out._

_"Hi," she said, grinning, as she saw me._

_"Hello." I smiled back. "How was Gym?"_

_Her smile disappeared. "Fine." I knew she was lying._

_"Really?" I asked, unconvinced. I noticed Mike exit the Gym and I narrowed my eyes. He was thinking about what went on during Gym--Bella had managed to hit both him and herself with her racket somehow--and about Bella.  
_

_Bella turned to look behind her shoulder, noticing my distraction._

_"What?" she asked, earning back my attention._

_"Newton's getting on my nerves." I replied._

_"You weren't listening again?" she gasped._

_"How's your head?" I asked._

_"You;re unbelievable!" she said, turning and stomping away towards the parking lot. Oops._

_I caught up with her quickly._

_"You were the one who mentioned how I'd never seen you in Gym," I reminded her._

_She ignored me. We walked back to my car in silence._

_~END FLASHBACK~_

**"--I felt faintly nauseated.**

**"The final bell rang at last. I walked slowly to the office to return my paperwork."**

"Oh, no," I groaned, and put my face in my hands.

"What?"

"You'll see." I said. "_Believe_ me."

**"The rain had drifted away, but the wind was strong, and colder. I wrapped my arms around myself.**

**"When I walked into the arm office, I almost turned around and walked back out.**

**"Edward Cullen stood at the desk in front of me."**

"Oh!" Emmett exclaimed, smacking his palm to his forehead, "_now_ I see!"

"You _think_?" I asked sarcastically.

**"I recognized again that tousled bronze hair. He didn't appear to notice the sound of my entrance. I stood pressed against the back wall, waiting for the receptionist to be free.**

**"He was arguing with her in a low, attractive voice. I quickly picked up the gist of the argument. He was trying to trade from six-hour Biology to another time--any other time.**

**"I just couldn't believe that this was about me. It had to be something else, something that happened before I entered the Biology room. The look on his face must have been about another aggravation entirely. It was impossible that this stranger could take such a sudden, intense dislike to me."**

"Apparently not," Jasper laughed. "as that's exactly what happened."

I glared at him and he immediately stopped laughing.

**"The door opened again, and the cold wind suddenly gusted through the room, rustling the papers on the desk, swirling my hair around my face. The girl who came in merely stepped to the desk, placed a note in the wire basket, and walked out again. But Edward Cullen's back stiffened, and he turned slowly to glare at me--his face was ab-s-s-s-surdly..." **Rose started laughing, just like Alice had only a few minutes ago at this point. And, like Alice, tried to keep going...and failed. **"ha-hand-s-s-some-me--"**

This time it was Jasper who took over the book. He took one look at where Rose had been-- and then he too broke into hysterical laughter.

And so, Esme reached over and grabbed the book without any nonsense.

**"--with piercing, hate-filled eyes**.** For an instant, I felt a thrill of genuine fear, raising the hair on my arms. The look lasted only a second, but it chilled me more than the freezing wind. He turned back to the receptionist.**

**"'Never mind, then,' he said hastily in a voice like velvet. 'I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help' And he turned on his heel without another look at me, and disappeared out the door.**

**"I went meekly to the desk, my face white for once instead of red, and handed her the signed slip.**

**"'How did your first day go, dear?' the receptionist asked maternally.**

**"'Fine,' I lied, my voice weak. She didn't look convinced.**

**"When I got to the truck, it was almost the last car in the lot. It seemed like a haven, already the closest thing to home I had in this damp green hole. I sat inside for a while, just staring out the windshield blankly. But soon I was cold enough to need the heater, so I turned the key and the engine roared to life. I headed back to Charlie's house, fighting tears the whole way there. **That's the end of the chapter." Esme finished.

"Well, I think we should leave the next chapter for tomorrow." Alice said.

"I agree." I said.

"Okay, then." Esme said, and she closed the book and handed it to me.

"Thank you, Esme." I said.

"You're welcome, son."

The five of them left the room to find other things to do.

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**A/N: Sorry for taking so long to update this, but I wanted to save it until I could put the complete chapter up. As for chapter 4, I've written a good twenty-something pages so far and will continue getting that ready for you. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Your thoughts mean a lot to me:) Also, just some things to say to some of you...:**

**2 Lazy 2 Login: Thanks a lot. I'm glad you think so.**

**Sun-MoonGoddess: Thanks for adding this to your Favorite Stories!**

**REVIEW!! PLEASE! I would love to get up to 30 reviews! Also, for those who have previously reviewed for this chapter, just shoot me an email at Amydapinkpanther yahoo . com or send me a private message!**

**~Amy~**


	5. twilight: open book

**A/N: From now on, I'm going to try to put the date (month/day) that each chapter takes place. Hope you guys like it!!! R & R!!!**

**Also, I just put up a group on facebook called "daybreak, by french_shark" for all of you who can't stop bugging me for the next chapter (addicted2twilight in particular) or just want to know what's going on on my end with the story, or want to submit ideas to me for the story. It's an open group so ALL are invited to join. Part of the reason I need ideas is because I need to find some distractions for the Cullens to prevent them from reading a particular part of another book too soon...Already I have an idea for what's going on for Halloween, and it has promises to be really good (I may be co-writing that chapter with divepup, but nothing's set in stone.)**

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**daybreak

4. twilight – open book (October 23)

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**Disclaimer: Notice how this site is called FANfiction .net? Yeah, I'm just a lowly, but very imaginative and creative FAN. I own nothing in bold, or any characters you've known before reading this...kk? Now, get reading!**

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The next morning, Carlisle returned, confirming the fact that all was well at the hospital. Rosalie, Esme, and Carlisle spent the morning hunting. Meanwhile, Alice was locked up in her room looking on her computer for any current sales for her and Rose to go shopping when they got back. Jasper and Emmett were having multiple arm wrestling matches.

As for me, I just sat at our piano, playing bits and pieces of different songs I'd written over the years…except for one. I wasn't anywhere near ready to play Bella's Lullaby.

Hours passed. Rosalie, Esme, and Carlisle returned. Emmett finally admitted overall defeat to Jasper and called it quits for the day (only because Esme would have punished them if she'd found out what they'd been doing all morning…)

Alice came downstairs to go shopping with Rosalie, showing her the different places she wanted to go. Five minutes later, they left, and Emmett, Esme, Carlisle, Jasper, and I returned to the mysterious book we'd found yesterday afternoon. This time we stayed in the main room instead of returning to my roon.

Today, Jasper started to read…

"Chapter two," he announced, "Open Book.

"**The next day was better…and worse.**

"**It was better because it wasn't raining yet, though the clouds were dense and opaque. It was easier because I knew what to expect of my day. Mike came to sit by me in English, and walked me to my next class, with Chess Club Eric glaring at him all the while; that was flattering. And annoying. People didn't look at me quite as much as they had yesterday. I sat with a big group at lunch that included Mike, Eric, Jessica, and several other people whose names and faces I now remembered. I began to feel like I was treading water, instead of drowning in it.**

"**It was worse because I was tired; I still couldn't sleep with the wind echoing around the house. It was worse because Mr. Varner called on me in Trig when my hand wasn't raised and I had the wrong answer. It was miserable because I had to play volleyball, and the one time I didn't cringe out of the way of the ball, I hit my teammate in the head with it. And it was worse because Edward Cullen wasn't in school at all.**

"**All morning I was dreading lunch, fearing his bizarre glares. Part of me wanted to confront him and demand to know what his problem was. While I was lying sleepless in my bed, I even imagined what I would say. But I knew myself too well to think I would really have the guts to do it. I made the Cowardly Lion look like the Terminator."**

We couldn't help but burst into laughter (finally) at the statement.

"**But when I walked into the cafeteria with Jessica—trying to keep my eyes from sweeping the place for him, and failing entirely—I saw that his four siblings of sorts were sitting together at the same table, and he was not with them.**

"**Mike intercepted us and steered us to his table. Jessica seemed elated by the attention, and her friends quickly joined us. But as I tried to listen to their easy chatter, I was terribly uncomfortable, waiting nervously for the moment he would arrive. I hoped that he would simply ignore me when he came, and prove my suspicions false.**

"**He didn't come, and as time passed I grew more and more tense."**

"Gee, do you think you made an impression?" Emmett asked sarcastically.

"Shut up, Emmett." I replied icily.

"Boys!" Emse interceded, "_Be nice_."

"Sorry, Esme."

"**I walked to Biology with more confidence when, by the end of lunch, he still hadn't showed. Mike, who was taking on the qualities of a golden retriever—" **Jasper and everyone started laughing, imagining little Mike Newton the dog.

This was the scene to which Rose and Alice returned.

"I heard something about Mike Newton resembling a dog?" Alice asked.

"Sounds about right." I agreed.

"Good, so we're caught up."

"—**walked faithfully by my side to class. I held my breath at the door, but Edward Cullen wasn't there, either. I exhaled and went to my seat. Mike followed, talking about an upcoming trip to the beach. He lingered by my desk till the bell rang. Then he smiled at me wistfully and went to sit by a girl with braces and a bad perm."**

Alice, who was next to me, tried not to imagine this girl and groaned when she failed. I ad to lugh a little at her disgust for others' "poor fashion sense".

"**It looked like I was going to have to do something about Mike, and it wouldn't be easy. In a town like this, where everyone lived on top of everyone else, diplomacy was essential. I had never been enormously tactful; I had no practice with overly friendly boys."**

More laughing. _Obviously_.

"**I was relieved that I had the desk to myself, that Edward was absent. I told myself that repeatedly. But I couldn't get rid of the nagging suspicion that I was the reason he wasn't there. It was ridiculous and egotistical, to think that I could affect anyone that strongly. It was impossible. And yet I couldn't stop worrying that it was true.**

"**When the school day was finally done, and the blush was fading out of my cheeks from the volleyball incident, I changed quickly back into my jeans and navy blue sweater. I hurried from the girls' locker room, pleased to find that I had successfully evaded my retriever friend for the moment. I walked swiftly out to the parking lot. It was crowded now with fleeing students. I got in my truck and dug through my bag to make sure I had what I needed.**

"**Last night I'd discovered that Charlie couldn't cook much besides fried eggs and bacon. So I rquested that I be assigned kitchen detail for the duration of my stay. He was willing enough to hand over the keys to the banquet hall. I also found out that he had no food in the house. So I had my shopping list and the cash from the jar in the cupboard labeled FOOD MONEY, and I was on my way to the Thriftway."**

"Huh," I murmured, "I'd always wondered why Charlie was never the cook…"

"**I gunned my deafening engine to life, ignoring the heads that turned in my direction, and backed carefully into a place in the line of cars that were waiting to exit the parking lot. I waited, trying to pretend that the earsplitting rumble was coming from someone else's car. I saw the two Cullens and the Hale twins getting into their car. IT was the shiny new Volvo. Of course, I hadn't noticed their clothes before—I'd been too mesmerized by their faces. Now that I looked, it was obvious that they were all dressed exceptionally well; simply, but in clothes that subtly hinted at designer origins. With their remarkable good looks, the style with which they carried themselves, they could have worn dishrags and pulled it off."**

We all glanced over to Alice, who looked like she was about to have a nervous breakdown.

"Oh, no," Jasper gasped. "I shouldn't have read that aloud."

"Let me," Rosalie said, and she bent down to Alice who had fallen to the floor, her eyes unfocused. But we all knew what was going on. She had seen in her mind an imagination of Bella's statement.

Alice being Alice, it turned out to be too much for her. This had happened before, though, so Rose knew exactly what to do. She stared into Alice's eyes and kept telling her to think of current fashion styles. That was the point when I stopped paying attention to her. Before long, though, Alice's eyes had refocused, and she was herself again. She quickly thanked Rose, then went to sit down on the couch, and they started to discuss their plans for their next shopping trip.

Again, I turned my attention elsewhere and nodded to Jasper to continue reading.

"**It seemed excessive for them to have both looks and money. But as far as I could tell, life worked that way most of the time. It didn't look as if it bought them any acceptance here.**

"**No, I didn't fully believe that. The isolation must be their desire—"**

"How right she is…" Emmett added.

"—**I couldn't imagine any door that wouldn't be opened by that degree of beauty.**

"**They looked at my noisy truck as I passed them, just like everyone else. I kept my eyes straight forward and was relieved when I finally was free of the school grounds.**

"**The Thriftway was not far from the school, just a few streets south off the highway. It was nice to be inside the supermarket; it felt normal. I did the shopping at home, and I fell into the pattern of the familiar task gladly. The store was big enough inside that I couldn't hear the tapping of the rain on the roof to remind me where I was.**

"**When I got home, I unloaded all the groceries, storing them in wherever I could find an open space. I hoped Charlie wouldn't mind. I wrapped potatoes in foil and stuck them in the oven to bake, covered a steak in marinade and balanced it on top of a carton of eggs in the fridge."**

"Why on top of the eggs? Aren't eggs supposed to be really fragile and everything?" Emmett asked.

We all stared at him.

"Why does it _matter_?" I asked.

"Since when have you known anything about cooking, anyway?" Rose asked.

"What?" Emmett asked. "I love—er, lov_ed_—food. I'm bound to know at least _some_ things…"

"Right…."

"Anyway…" Jasper started above our collective little 'discussion', "let's continue reading, shall we?"

"Agreed."

"**When I was finished with that, I took my book bag upstairs. Before starting my homework, I changed into a pair of dry sweats, pulled my damp hair into a ponytail, and checked my email for the first time. I had three messages.**

"'**Bella,' my mom wrote, 'Write me as soon as you get in. Tell me how your flight was. Is it raining? I miss you already. I'm almost finished packing for Florida, but I can't find my pink blouse. Do you know where I put it? Phil says hi. Mom.'"**

"Wow, her mom really is harebrained …" Alice commented.

"Yeah, and obviously very eager to hear about Bella's trip." Rose added.

"Who ever says 'blouse' anymore? What's wrong with just 'shirt'?" Emmett asked.

Alice raised an eyebrow in his direction.

"Just ignore him," I murmured.

"I heard that.!" Emmett yelled.

I cupped my hands over my ears. "That goes both ways." I said.

"Oh, shut up." Emmett said, punching me lightly (or as lightly as is possible for an extremely strong vampire) on my arm.

"Ow!" I complained, rubbing my arm for a moment before hitting him back.

He returned the "punch" and next thing I knew, we were having another one of our (somewhat) often "slap fights", as Esme so called them.

"Boys!" she yelled, grabbing one of each of our arms with each hand. "Stop it! What have I said about slap fights?"

"To not have them." I mumbled.

"Exactly." She said, "now apologize. The _both_ of you."

"Sorry, Emmett." I said.

"I'm sorry, Eddie." Emmett grumbled, and I could hear his mental offer of a revenge arm wrestling match later.

"Apology accepted." I said, accepting his silent offer so Esme wouldn't know.

He nodded his understanding. _As soon as Esme's not around._

"Thank you, boys." Esme said cordially, finally letting us free. "Jasper, please continue reading."

"**I sighed and went to the next. It was sent eight hours after the first.**

"'**Bella,' she wrote, 'Why haven't you e-mailed me yet? What are you waiting for? Mom.'**

"**The last was from this morning.**

"**Isabella, if I haven't heard from you by 5:30pm today I'm calling Charlie."**

"Well, look at that!" Emmett laughed. "Not only is she harebrained, she's overly impatient." He laughed again.

I gave him one of the most deadly glares so far.

"**I checked the clock. I still had an hour, but my mom was well known for jumping the gun.**

"'**Mom, calm down. I'm writing right now. Don't do anything rash. Bella.'**

"**I sent that, and began again.**

"'**Mom, everything is great. Of course it's raining. I was waiting for something to write about. School isn't bad, just a little repetitive. I met some nice kids who sit by me at lunch.**

"'**Your blouse is at the dry cleaners—you were supposed to pick it up Friday.**

"'**Charlie bought me a truck, can you believe it? I love it. It's old, but really believe it? I love it. It's old, but really sturdy, which is good, you know, for me.**

"'**I miss you, too. I'll write again soon, but I'm not going to check my email every five minutes. Relax, breathe. I love you. Bella.'**

**"I had decided to read _Wuthering Heights_--the novel we were currently studying in English--yet again for the fun of it, and that's what I was doing when Charlie came home. I'd lost track of the time, and I hurried downstairs to take the potatoes out and put the steak in to broil.**

**"'Bella?' my father called out when he heard me on the stairs.**

**"Who else? I thought to myself?"**

"Hmm," Emmettt said, "let's think." He turned to look at me.

"Emmett..." Esme warned.

"Fine," he sighed.

**"'Hey, Dad, welcome home.'**

**"'What's for dinner?' he asked warily. My mother was an imaginative cook, and her experiments weren't always edible. I was surprised, and sad, that he seemed to remember that far back.**

**"'Steak and potatoes,' I answered, and he looked relieved.**

**"He seemed to feel awkward standing in the kitchen doing nothing; he lumbered into the living room to watch TV while I worked. We were both more comfortable that way. I made a salad while the steaks cooked, and set the table.**

**"I called him in when dinner was ready, and he sniffed qppreciatively as he walked into the room.**

**"'Smells good, Bell.'**

**"'Thanks.'**

**"We ate in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't uncomfortable. Neither of us was bothered by the quiet. In some ways, we were well suited for living together.**

**"'So, how did you like school? Have you made any friends?' he asked as he was taking seconds.**

**"'Well, I have a few classes with a girl named Jessica. I sit with her friends at lunch. And there's this boy, Mike, who's very friendly. Everybody seems pretty nice.' With one outstanding exception.**

**"'That must be Mike Newton. Nice kid--nice family. His dad owns the sporting goods store just outside of town. He makes a good living off all the backpackers who come through here.'"  
**  
"Including us." I laughed.

**"'Do you know the Cullen family?' I asked hesitantly.**

**"'Dr. Cullen's family? Sure. Dr. Cullen's a great man.'**

**"'They..the kids..are a little different. They don't seem to fit in very well at school.'**

**"Charlie surprised me by looking angry.**

**"People in this town," he muttered. "Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon who could probably work in any hospital in the world--"**

"Except where it's sunny," Emmett interrupted.

"Yeah," Rose agreed.

"Anyway," Jasper said, **"--make ten times the salary he gets here,' he continued, getting louder. 'We're lucky to have him--lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town."**

"Is that what everyone thought?" I asked.

"Well, I _have_ always wanted to live in a smaller town," Esme admitted, "So it seemed a good alibi."

"It's a good one," Alice commented. "I like it."

"Thank you, Alice." she said.

**"He's an asset to the community, and all of those kids are well behaved and polite."** Jasper continued.

"That's what he says now," I said, "but that'll all change soon enough..."

"Haha," Alice laughed, "yeah, he like hated your guts for dating Bella."

"Well," I sighed, "he's probably happy now."

"Maybe," Alice said," but is Bella?"

That hit a nerve. I quickly fled the room.

_Oops_, I heard Alice realize what she'd done.

"Edward, come back!" she yelled, following me outside. "Edward, I'm sorry! I didn't mean that! I shouldn't have said it, I know."

"No," I said, turning around to face her. "You shouldn't have."

"Listen," Alice said.

She took me by the shoulders and stared into my eyes, letting me see the sincerity of her apology.

"Edward," Alice pleaded, "please forgive me for saying that.

I knew I believed her, but it was difficult, at the moment, to recall my anger from a moment ago. But I managed it.

"I know, Alice." I agreed. "It's okay. It was a mistake."

"Thanks." Alice said and she gave me one of her tight hugs.

"Okay, that hurts a little." I complained.

She quickly let go.

"So," she asked, "Shall we return to the house?"

"Sure." I said, and we returned to the main room, where everyone was waiting.

"It's okay." I announced. "You can continue reading now, Jasper."

"Sure," he murmured and picked up the book from where he'd apparantly placed it on the couch.

**"I had my doubts, when they first moved in, with all those adopted teenagers. I thought we might have some problems with them. But they're all very mature--I haven't had one speck of trouble from any of them. That's more than I can say for the children of some folks who have lived in this town for generations. And they stick together the way a family should--camping trips every other weekend..."**

"HUNTING trips..."

**"Just because they're new comers, people have to talk.'"**

**"It was the longest speech I'd ever heard Charlie make. He must feel strongly about whatever people were saying.**

**"I backpedaled. 'They seemed nice enough to me. I jsut noticed they kept to themselves.'"**

"Really? _Is_ that all she noticed?" Emmett asked, his voice thick with sarcasm. "Cause I could've _sworn_ she noticed a few _other_ things..."

"Emmett," I yelled, "you better shut up before I sic _Alice_ on you..."

Emmett glanced over to Alice, who gave him a sickly sweet smile, proving just whose side she was on. Emmett gulped and quickly went to hide behind Rose.

**"'They're all very attractive,' I added, trying to be more complimentary.**

**"'You should see the doctor,' Charlie said, laughing. 'It's a good thing he's happily married. A lot of the nurses at the hospital have a hard time concentrating on their work with him around.'**

**"We lapsed back into silence as we finished eating. He cleared the table while I started on the dishes. He went back to the TV, and after I finished washing the dishes by hand--no dishwasher--I went upstairs unwilllingly to work on my math homework. I could feel a tradition in the making.**

**"That night it was finally quiet. I fell asleep quickly, exhausted.**

**"The rest of the week was uneventful. I got used to the routine of my classes. By Friday I was able to recognize, if not name, almost all of the students at school. In Gym, the kids on my team learned not to pass me the ball and to step quicly in front of me if the other team tried to take advantage of my weakness. I happily stayed out of their way.**

**"Edward Cullen didn't come back to school.**

**"Every day, I watched anxiously until the rest of the Cullens entered the cafeteria without him. Then I could relax and join in the lunchtime conversation. Mostly it centered around a trip to the La Push Ocean Park in two weeks that Mike was putting together. I was invited, and I had agreed to go, more out of politeness than desire. Beaches should be hot and dry.**

**"By Friday I was perfectly comfortable entering my Biology class, no longer worried that Edward would be there. For all I knew, he had dropped out of school. I tried not to think about him, but I couldn't totally supress the worry that I was responsible for his continued absence, ridiculous as it seemed.**

**"My first weekend in Forks passed without incident. Charlie, unused to spending time in the usually empty house, worked most of the weekend. I cleaned the house, got ahead on my homework, and wrote my mom more bogusly cheerful email. I did drive to the library Saturday, but it was so poorly stocked that I didn't bother to get a card; I would have to make a date to visit Olympia or Seattle soon and find a good bookstore."**

"So, _that's_ where she got the idea..." I realized.

"What idea?" Jasper asked.

"Oh, nothing incredibly important." I said.

_~FLASHBACK~  
I sat at the table in Biology, waiting impatiently for the teacher. I watched out of the corner of my eye as Bella entered the classroom, closely followed by Mike Newton. I continued to look toward the front of the room as she sat down next to me. Mike was silent as he sat down on the edge of the desk._

_He looked down at the floor, trying to figure out what to say._

_"So," he mumbled, still looking at the floor, "Jessica asked me to the Spring Dance."_

_"That's great." Bella said cheerfully. "You'll have a lot of fun with Jessica."_

_"Well..." he said, and I could hear how he was a little set back by her cheerful tone. "I told her I had to think about it."_

_"Why would you do that?" she asked, her tone disapproving now._

_Mike's face turned bright red as he replied, "I was wondering if...well, if you might be planning to ask me."  
_Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes_...! he chanted silently to himself._

_I turned my head every so slightly to the left to see her reaction._

_"Mike, I think you should tell her yes," Bella replied._

_"Did you already ask someone?" He quickly glanced at me._

_"No," said Bella. "I'm not going to the dance at all."_

_This threw me off a little. Why wouldn't she go?_

_"Why not?" Mike asked for me._

_"I'm going to Seattle that Saturday." she answered._

_I briefly wondered why, but continued to silently look towards the front of the room._

_"Can't you go some other weekend?"_

_"Sorry, no," I said. "So you shouldn't make Jess wait any longer--it's rude."_

_"Yeah, you're right," he mumbled, and he wandered back over to his seat, devastated.  
~END FLASHBACK~  
_  
"I wondered idly what kind of gas mileage the truck got...and shuddered at the thought.

**"The rain stayed soft over the weekend, quiet, so I was able to sleep well.**

**"People greeted me in the parking lot Monday morning. I didn't know all their names, but I waved back and smiled at everyone. It was colder this morning, but happily not raining. In English, Mike took his accustomed seat by my side. We had a pop quiz on _Wuthering Heights_. It was straightforward, very easy.**

**"All in all, I was feeling a lot more comfortable than I had thought I would feel by this point. More comfortable than I ever expected to feel here.**

**"When we walked out of class, the air was full of swirling bits of white. I could hear people shouting excitedly to each other. The wind bit at my cheeks, my nose.**

**"'Wow,' Mike said. 'It's snowing.'**

**"I looked at the little cotton fluffs that were building up along the sidewalk and swirling erratically past my face.**

**"'Ew.' Snow. There went my good day."**

"She doesn't like snow?" Emmett gasped. "What is _wrong_ with her?"

**"He looked surprised. 'Don't you like snow?'**

**"'No. That means it's too cold for rain.' Obviously. "'Besides, I thought it was supposed to come down in flakes--you know, each one uique and all that. These just look like the ends of Q-tips.'**

**"'Haven't you ever seen snow fall before?' he asked incredulously.**

**"'Sure I have.' I paused. 'On TV.'"**

"But that doesn't count!" Emmett laughed.

"She's lived in Phoenix, Arizona her whole life, you idiot." I said, "Of course that's the only way she's seen it!"

**"Mike laughed. And then a big, squishy ball of dripping snow smacked into the back of his head."**

Emmett, Jasper, and I laughed, soon joined by Alice, Carlisle, Esme, adn Rosalie.

**"We both turned to see where it came from. I had my suspicions of Eric, who was walking away, his back toward us--in the wrong direction for his next class. Mike apparently had the same notion. He bent over and began scraping together a pile of the white mush.**

**"'I'll see you at lunch, okay?' I kept walking as I spoke. 'Once people start throwing wet stuff, I go inside.'**

**"He just nodded, his eyes on Eric's retreating figure.**

**"Throughout the morning, everyone chatted excitedly about the snow; apparently it was the first snowfall of the new year. I kept my mouth shut. Sure, it was drier than rain--unitl it melted in your socks.**

**"I walked alertly to the cafeteria with Jessica after Spanish. Mush balls were flying everywhere. I kept a binder in my hands, ready to use it as a shield if neccessary. Jessica thought it was hilarious, but something in my expression kept her from lobbing a snowball at me herself.**

**"Mike caught up with us as we walked in the doors, laughing, with ice melting the spikes in his hair. He and Jessica were talking animatedly about the snow fight as we got in line to buy food. I glanced toward that table in the corner out of habit. And then I froze where I stood. There were five people at the table.**

**"Jessica pulled on my arm.**

**"'Hello? Bella? What do you want?'**

**"I looked down; my ears were hot."**

"'Her ears were...'--what?" Emmett asked.

"She was nervous, and probably blushing." I explained.

"Oh..."

**"I had no reason to feel self-conscious, I reminded myself. I hadn't done anything wrong.**

**"'What's with Bella?' Mike asked Jessica.**

**"'Nothing,' I asnwered. 'I'll just get a soda today.' I caught up to the end of the line.**

**"'Aren't you hungry?' Jessica asked.**

**"'Actually, I feel a little sick,' I said, my eyes still on the floor.**

**"I waited for them to get their food, and then followed them to a table, my eyes on my feet.**

**"I sipped my soda slowly, my stomach churning. Twice Mike asked, with unneccessary concern, how I was feeling.**

**"I told him it was nothing, but I was wondering if I _should_ play it up and excape to the nurse's office for the next hour.**

**"Ridiculous. I shouldn't have to run away."**

I gasped. Those had been my exact thoughts and my reasoning for returning to school that day...

**"I decided to permit myself one glance at the Cullen family's table. If he was glaring at me, I would skip Biology, like the coward I was.**

**"I kept my head down and glanced up under my lashes. None of them were looking this way. I lifted my head a little.**

**"They were laughing. Edward, Jasper, and Emmett all had their hair entirely saturated with melting snow. Alice and Rosalie were leaning away as Emmett shook his dripping hair towards them. They were enjoying the snowy day, just like everyone else--only they looked more like a scene from a movie than the rest of us.**

"Oh, I remember that snow fight!" Emmett exclaimed. "It was so much fun!"

"So _you_ think," Rosalie grimaced.

Emmett just laughed.

"You _also_ remember that it was just so Bella wouldn't notice that we were very different from everyone else, yes?" I said.

"Way to ruin the moment, Eddie," Emmett said.

"It's only true," I said.

"For _you_, maybe," he replied, "However, _I _did it for _me_."

"Well, yeah, I guess you're right about _that_ minor detail."

**"But aside from the laughter and playfulness, there was something different, and I couldn't quite pinpoint what that difference was. I examined Edwad the most carefully. His skin was less pale, I decided--flushed from the snow fight, maybe--the circles under his eyes much less noticeable. But there was something more. I ponered, staring, trying to isolate the change."**

"It couldn't _possibly_ be that he was _happy_, could it?" Rosalie said.

**"'Bella, what are you staring at?' Jessica intruded, her eyes following my stare.**

**"At that precise moment, his eyes flashed over to meet mine.**

**"I dropped my head, letting my hair fall to conceal my face. I was sure, though, in the instant that our eyes met, that he didn't look harsh or unfriendly as he had the last time I'd seen him. He looked merely curious again, unsatisfied in some way."**

"Trying to hear her thoughts again, eh, Edward?" Jasper asked me.

"Shut up." I said.

**"Edward Cullen is staring at you,'" **Jasper said, returning to the book.

"You think?" Emmett asked.

**"Jessica giggled in my ear.**

**"'He doesn't look angry, does he?' I couldn't help asking."**

"Um, didn't she just figure that out?" Rose asked.

"Huh," I said, "you're right. Weird, that."

**"'No,' she said, sounding confused by my question. 'Should he be?'**

**"'I don't think he likes me,' I confided. I still felt queasy. I put my head down on my arm.**

**"'The Cullens don't like anybody...well, they don't notice anybody enough to like them. But he's still staring at you.'**

**"'Stop looking at hi,' I hissed.**

**"She snickered, but she looked away. I raised my head enough to make sure she did, contemplating violence if she resisted."**

I had to laugh at this last comment. Bella and violence just sounded comical when put together that way...

**"Mike interrupted us then--he was planning an epic battle of the blizzard in the parking lot after school and wanted us to join. Jessica agreed enthusiastically. The way she looked at Mike left little doubt that she would be up for anything he suggested."**

_~FLASHBACK **[MIDNIGHT SUN EXCERPT]**~_

Fat lot of good it will do her, _Jessica's thoughts went on. _She's really not even pretty. I don't know why Eric is staring so much...or Mike.

_She winced mentally on the last name. Her new infatuation, the generically popular Mike Newton, was completely oblivious to her. Apparently, he was not as oblivious to the new girl._

_~END FLASHBACK/**EXCERPT**~_

**"I kept silent. I would have to hide in the gym until the parking lot cleared.**

**"For the rest of the lunch hour I very carefully kept my eyes at my own table. I decided to honor the bargain I'd made with myself. Since he didn't look angry, I would go to Biology. My stomach did frightened little flips at the thought of sitting next to him again."I didn't really want to walk to class with Mike as usual--he seemed to be a popular target for the snowball snipers--but when we got to the door, everyone besides me groaned in unison. It was raining, washing all traces of the snow away in clear, icy ribbons down the side of the walkway. I pulled my hood up, secretly pleased. I would be free to go staight home after Gym.**

**"Mike kept up a string of complaints on the way to building four.**

**"Once inside the classroom, I saw with relief that my table was still empty. Mr. Banner was walking around the room, distributing one microscope and box of slides to each table. Class didn't start for a few minutes, and the room buzzed with conversation. I kept my eyes away from the door, doodling idly on the cover of my notebook.**

**"I heard very clearly when the chair next to me moved, but my eyes stayed carefully focused on the pattern I was drawing.**

**"'Hello,' said a quiet, musical voice.**

**"I looked up, stunned that he was speaking to me. He was as far away from me as the desk allowed, but his chair was angled toward me. His hair was dripping wet, disheveled--even so, it looked like he'd just finished shooting a commercial for hair gel. His dazzling face was friendly, open, a slight smile on his flawless lips." **Jasper then let out a huge sigh, as to keep himself from laughing again. After he was confident that he'd succeeded, he resumed reading. **"But his eyes were careful.**

**"'My name is Edward Cullen," he continued. 'I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan.'**

**"My mind was spinning with confusion. Had I made up the whole thing? He was perfectly polite now. I had to speak; he was waiting. But I couldn't think of anything conventional to say.**

**"'H-how do you know my name?' I stammered.**

**"He laughed a soft, enchanting laugh.**

**"'Oh, I think everyone knows your name. The whole town's been waiting for you to arrive.'**

**"I grimaced. I knew it was something like that.**

**"'NO,' I persisted stupidly. 'I meant, why did you call me Bella?'**

**"He seemed confused. 'Do you prefer Isabella?'**

**"'No, I like Bella,' I said. 'But I think Charlie--I mean my dad--must call me Isabella behind my back--that's what everyone here seems to know me as,' I tried to explain, feeling like an utter moron."**

"So was I!" I laughed.

"What?" Emmett said. "Why did _you_ feel like an utter moron?"

"_Because_," I said, sighing at how oblivious Emmett was being (even though it was far from the first time it had happened...) "As she just explained, I'd called her Bella, which I wasn't supposed to do because I wasn't supposed to have known that she preferred to be called Bella. But, because I'd heard her correct so many people in the past, I'd already known, and so I slipped up. Hence, I felt like an utter moron."

Emmett just stared for a moment, with a blank expression, obviously thinking through my little speech piece-by-piece.

"_Oh_...right..." he said, once he'd finally understood.

_~FLASHBACK **[MIDNIGHT SUN EXCERPT]**~_

_My eyes locked for a small portion of a second with a pair of wide, chocolate-brown human eyes set in a pale, heart-shaped face. I knew the face, though I'd never seen it before this moment. It had been foremost in every human head today. The new student, Isabella Swan. Daughter of the town's chief of police, brought to live here by some new custody situation. Bella. She'd corrected everyone who'd used her full name._

_~END FLASHBACK/**EXCERPT**~_

**"'Oh.' He let it drop. I looked away awkwardly.**

**"Thafully, Mr. Banner started class at that moment. I tried to concentrate as he explained the lab we would be doing today. The slides in the box were out of order. Working as lab partners, we had to separate the slidees of onion root tip cells into the phases of mitosis they represented and label them accordingly. We weren't supposed to use our books. In twenty minutes, he would be coming around to see who had it right.**

**"'Get started.' He commanded.**

**"'Ladies first, partner?' Edward asked. I looked up to see him smiling a crooked smile so beautiful that I could only stare at him like an idiot.**

**"'Or I could start, if you wish.' The smile faded, he was obviously wondering if I was mentally competant.**

**"'No,' I said, flushing. 'I'll go ahead.'**

**"'I was showing off, just a little. I'd already done this lab, and I knew what I was looking for."**

I laughed. "But she hasn't done it anywhere near as much as I have."

My family members joined in my laughter.

**"It should be easy. I snapped the first slide into place under the microscope and adjusted it quickly to the 40X objective. I studied the slide briefly.**

**"My assessment was confident. 'Prophase.'**

**"'Do you mind if I look?' he asked as I began to remove the slide. His hand caught mine to stop me, as he asked. His fingers were ice-cold, like he'd been holding them in a snowdrift before class. But that wasn't why I jerked my hand away so quickly."**

"Whaa...?" Emmettt asked, confused.

"Shh!" Alicee and Rose shushed him.

**"'I'm sorry,' he muttered, pulling his had back immediately. However, he continued to reach for the microscope. I watched him, still staggered, as he examined the slide for an even shorter time than I had.**

**"'Prophse,' he agreed, writing it neatly in the first space on our worksheet. He swiftly switched out the first slide for the second, and then glanced at it cursorily.**

**"'Anaphase,' he murmured, writing it down as he spoke.**

**"I kept my voice indifferent. 'May I?'**

**"He smirked and pushed the microscope to me.**

**"I looked through the eyepiece eagerly, only to be disappointed. Dang it, he was right."**

We all laughed. Stubborn Bella, as usual.

**"'Slide three?' I held out my hand without looking at him.**

**"He handed it to me; it seemed like he was being careful not to touch my skin again.**

**"I thook the most fleeting look I could manage.**

**"'Interphase.' I passed him the microscope before he could ask for it. He took a swift peek, and then wrote it down. I would have written it while he looked, but his clear, elegant script intimidated me. I didn't want to spoil the page with my clumsy scrawl.**

**"We were finished before anyone else was close. I could see Mike and his partner comparing two slides again and again, and another group had their book open under the table.**

**"Which left me with nothing to do but try to not look at him...unsuccessfully."**

And so Emmettt started cackling away again...until I grabbed him in a headlock.

"Leggo! Leggo!" Emmett stammered, trying to escape.

"What's that you're saying?" I asked innocently.

"I think he's asking for his Lego's." Rose purposely misinterpreted.

"Or maybe he wants some waffles." Alice suggested. "You know, like 'Eggo's! Eggo's!'"

"Hmm..." I pondered aloud. "You may have a point there..."

"Nunh! Nunh! _Leg goal_! _Leg goal_!" Emmett squealed.

"Is he talking about soccer?" Jasper asked.

Emmett's really picked up on his flailing now.

"_Egg--mew--goat_!" Emmett continued.

"Practicing your animals, are you, Emmett?" I laughed.

"Allright, Edward, you've had your fun." Carlisle said. "Let him go."

I loosened my grip around Emmett's neck. He stumbled back a few feet before regaining his balance.

"Finally!" Emmett yelled.

"Hey, no yelling." Rose scolded.

"But that was no fair!" Emmett complained. "What you guys did was totally uncalled for!"

"Actually, Emmett, it was called for." Esme replied.

Case closed.

Jasper then took this opportunity to return to the book.

**"I glanced up, and he was staring at me, that same inexplicable look of frustration in his eyes. Suddenly I identified that subtle difference in his face."**

"Three guesses what." Emmett joked.

**"'Did you get contacts?' I blurted out unthinkingly.**

**"He seemed puzzled by my unexpected question. 'No.'"**

"What up with that?" Emmett asked. "_Now_ how do you cover you eye color change?"

"Yeah, how come you just didn't admit to contacts?" Rose asked.

"Temporary lapse in judgement?" I asked.

"Whatever." Alice said. "Doesn't matter now."

"Thank you, Alice."

**"'Oh,' I mumbled. 'I thought there was something different about your eyes.'**

**"He shrugged, and looked away.**

**"In fact, I was sure there was something different. I vividly remembered the flat black color of his eyes the last time he'd glared at me--the color was striking against the background of his pale skin and his auburn hair. Today his eyes were a completely different color: a strange, ocher, darker than butterscotch, but with the same golden tone. I didn't understand how that could be, unless he was lying for some reason about the contacts. Or maybe Forks was making me crazy in the literal sense of the word."**

"Well, not necessarily her..." Emmett commented. "However, there are some others..."

"Do us all a favor, Emmett--"

"Shut up."

**"I looked down. His hands were clenched into hard fists again.**

**"Mr. Banner came to our table then, to see why we weren't working. He looked over our shoulders to glance at the completed lab, and then stared more intently to check the answers.**

**"'So, Edward, didn't you think Isabella should get a chance with the microscope?' Mr. Banner asked.**

**"'Bella.' Edward corrected automatically. 'Actually, she identified three of the five.'"**

"Owned!" Emmett exclaimed.

No one bothered to shut him up this time.

**"Mr. Banner looked at me now; his expression skeptical.**

**"'Have you done this lab before?' he asked.**

**"I replied sheepishly. 'Not with onion root.'**

**"'Whitefish blastula?'**

**"'Yeah.'**

**"Mr. Banner nodded. 'Were you in an advanced placement program in Phoenix?'**

**"'Yes.'**

**"'Well,' he said after a moment. 'I guess it's good you two are lab partners.' He mumbled something else as he walked away."**

"Ooh! Ooh!" Emmett squealed. "What'd he say, Eddie? What'd he say?"

"Oh, just complaining about how we're too smart..."

We laughed.

**"After he left, I began doodling in my notebook again.**

**"'It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?' Edward asked. I had the feeling that he was forcing himself to make small talk with me. Paranoia swept over me again. It was like he had heard my conversation with Jessica at lunch and was trying to prove me wrong."**

"_Naww..._really?" Emmett asked.

"Imagine that." Jasper added.

"Enough with the sarcasm, guys." I replied.

**"'Not really,' I answered honestly, instead of pretending to be normal like everyone else. I was still trying to dislodge the stupid feeling of suspicion, and I couldn't concentrate.**

**"'You don't like the cold.' It wasn't a question.**

**"'Or the wet.'**

**"'Forks must be a difficult place for you to live,' he mused.**

**"'You have no idea.' I muttered darkly."**

"You do now."

I laughed. "Too true. Too true..."

**"He looked fascinated by what I said, for some reason I couldn't imagine. His face was such a distraction that I tried not to look at it any more than courtesy absolutely demanded.**

**"'Why did you come here, then?'**

**"No one had asked me that--not straight out like he did, demanding.**

**"'It's...complicated.'**

**"'I think I can keep up,' he pressed.**

**"I paused for a long moment, and then made the mistake of metting his gaze. His dark gold eyes confused me, and I answered without thinking.**

**"'My mother got remarried,' I said.**

**"'That doesn't sound so complex,' he disagreed, but he was suddenly sympathetic. 'When did that happen?'**

**"'Last September.' My voice sounded sad, even to me.**

**"'And you don't like him,' Edward surmised, his tone still kind.**

**"'No, Phil is fine. Too young, maybe, but nice enough.'**

**"'Why didn't you stay with them?'**

**"I couldn't fathom his interest, but he continued to stare at me with penetrating eyes, as if my dull life's story was somehow vitally important.**

**"'Phil travels a lot. He plays ball for a living.' I half-smiled.**

**"'Have I heard of him?' he asked, smiling in response.**

**"'Probably not. He doesn't play _well_. Strictly minor league. He moves around a lot.'**

**"'And your mother sent you here so that she could travel with him.' He said as an assumption again, not a question.**

**"My chin raised a fraction. 'No, she did not send me here. I sent myself.'**

**"His eyebrows knit together. 'I don't understand,' he admitted, and he seemed unnecessarily frustrated by that face.**

**"I sighed. Why was I explaining this to him? He continued to stare at me with obvious curiosity.**

**"'She stayed with me at first, but she missed him. It made her unhappy...so I decided it was time to spend some quality time with Charlie.' My voice was glum by the time I finished.**

**"'But now you're unhappy,' he pointed out.**

**"'And?' I challenged.**

**"'That doesn't seem fair.' He shrugged, but his eyes were still intense.**

**"I laughed without humor. 'Hasn't anyone ever told you? Life isn't fair.'**

"Oh...!" Emmett jeered. "Owned!"

"Emmett, you had best shut up before I hurt you!" I threatened.

Without responding, Emmett moved quickly to the other side of Rose.

**"'I believe I _have_ heard that somewhere before,' he agreed dryly.**

"Nice cover," Alice commented.

"How can you agree to something _dry_ly? Can you like agree _wet_ly, too?" Emmett asked, a look of pure confusion plastered on his face.

"I'm not even going to honor that with an answer." Alice said, shaking her head.

**"'So that's all,' I insisted, wondering why he was still staring at me that way.**

**"His gaze became appraising. 'You put on a good show,' he said slowly. 'But I'd be willing to bet that you're suffering more than you let anyone see.'**

**"I grimaced at him, resisting the impulse to stick out my tongue like a 5-year-old, and looked away." **That blew it for Jas'er's patience. As soon as he finished the sentence, he burst out laughing, letting his humorous mood spread throughout the room.

First me, then Alice, Rose, and Emmett, and finally Carlisle and Esme joined in his laughter as it reached them.

The laughter eventually died out, and Jasper went back to reading.

**"'Am I wrong?'**

**"I tried to ignore him.**

**"'I didn't think so,' he murmured smugly.**

**"Why does it matter to _you_?' I asked, irritated. I kept my eyes away, watching the teacher make his rounds.**

**"'That's a very good question,' he muttered, so quietly that I wondered if he was talking to himself. However, after a few seconds of silence, I decided that was the only answer I was going to get.**

**"I sighed, scowling at the blackboard.**

**"'Am I annoying you?' he asked. He sounded amused.**

**"I glanced at him without thinking...and told the truth again. 'Not exactly. I'm more annoyed at myself. My face is so easy to read--my mother always calls me her open book.' I frowned.**

**"'On the contrary, I find you very difficult to read.' Despite everything that I'd said and he'd guessed, he sounded like he meant it.**

**"'You must be a good reader then,' I replied.**

**"'Usually.' He smiled widely, flashing a set of perfect, ultrawhite teeth.**

**"Mr. Banner called the class to order then, and I turned with relief to listen. I was in disbelief that I'd just explained my dreary life to this bizarre, beautiful boy who may or may not despise me. He'd seemed engrossed in our conversation, but now I could see, from the corner of my eye, that he was leaning away from me again, his hands gripping the edge of the table with unmistakable tension.**

**"I tried to appear attentive as Mr. Banner illustrated with transparencies on the overhead projector, what I had seen without difficulty through the microscope. But my thoughts were unmanageable.**

**"When the bell finally rang, Edward rushed as swiftfully and as gracefully frolm the room as he had last Monday. And, like last Monday, I stared after him in amazement.**

**"Mike skipped quickly to my side and picked up my books for me. I imagined him with a wagging tail."**

We all laughed as, once again, Mike Newton the Dog flashed to the front of our minds. It was such a good comparison, too, as that was exactly what Mike seemed to act like. Following her around, tailing after her...he was practically waiting on her hand and foot every chance he found.

**"'That was awful,' he groaned. 'They all looked exactly the same. You're lucky you had Cullen for a partner.'**

**"I didn't have any trouble with it,' I said, stung by his assumption. I regretted the snub instantly."**

"Typical Bella." I said, along with Emmett and Jasper.

This started Jasper and Emmett into a 'jinx' contest.

"Jinx.

"Jinx.

"Jinx.

"Jinx.

"Jinx. Jinx.

"Jinx. Jinx.

"Jinx. Jinx. Jinx..."

And on and on it went. About 5 minutes, and a good 300 'jinx's later, Jasper came out the winner, complete with a commitment from Emmett that he couldn't speak any words that began with the letter 'W'.

"But wh...--" Emmett held back his question as it would interfere with what it was he had to do.

This may just be a very interesting day after all. As it is, Jasper conveniently wiped out Emmett's use of the ever-important question words: Who, What, When, Where, and _Why._ Clever Jasper. This may sound simple at first, but I had to admit, 'W' is a hard letter to avoid.

For a moment, I even felt almost _sorry_ for Emmett...or maybe it was just Jasper playing with my emotions again...

Jasper returned to the book with a rather satisfied grin on his face.

**"'I've done the lab before, though.' I added before he could get his feelings hurt.**

**"'Cullen seemed friendly enough today,' he commented as we shrugged our raincoats on. He didn't seem pleased about it.**

**"I tried to sound indifferent. 'I wonder what was with him last Monday.'**

**"I couldn't concentrate on Mike's chatter as we walked to Gym and P.E. didn't do much to hold my attention, either. Mike was on my team today. He chivalrously covered my position as well as his own, so my woolgathering was only interrupted when it was my turn to serve, my team ducked warily out of the way every time I was up.**

**"The rain was just a mist as I walked to the parking lot, but I was happier when I was in the dry cab. I got the heater running, for once not caring about the mind-numbing roar of the engine. I unzipped my jacket, put the hood down, and fluffed my damp hair out so the heater could dry it on the way home.**

**"I looked around me to make sure it was clear. That's when I noticed the still, white figure. Edward Cullen was leaning against the front door of the Volvo, three cars down from me, and staring intently in my direction. I swiftly looked away and threw the truck into reverse, almost hitting a rusty Toyota Corolla in my haste. Lucky for the Toyota, I stomped on the brake in time. It was just the sort of car that my truck would make scrap metal of. I took a deep breath, still looking out the other side of my car, and I cautiously pulled out again, with greater success. I stared straight ahead as I passed the Volvo, but from a peripheral peek, I would swear I saw him laughing." **Jasper looked up from the book. "well, that didn't take very long. Anyone want to go ahead and read the next chapter, too?"

Several hands shot through the air.

"Okay, then." Jasper announced. "Oh, and Emmett?"

"Wh--I mean, yeah?" Emmett stumbled over his words.

"Your turn to read."

"But I don't w--I mean, wh--mmmph!" Emmett stammered again, but soon realized there would be no way out. Boy, this would be interesting....

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**A/N: Thanks to all of you for being so incredibly patient for this chapter! Usually, I just would have posted what I had as I had it, but I had a few complaints, so I waited until it was complete! So, yay, you get one super long new chapter in one fell swoop! Anywhoo...Remember, to ALWAYS leave reviews!!! Also, ANY ideas for things for the Cullens to do outside of reading the story, or reactions to certain parts, tell me because everything so far is pretty much as I write...whatever my thoughts are, they pretty much just go, for instance, Emmett's "little song"? I wrote it in Biology and Band to keep myself awake and so, it became it's brilliant self. Heck, I WROTE it, and I STILL don't know HOW I came up with it! Lol. But it made me a VERY happy person, when I realized it's pure awesomeness...! Also, please go to my profile and vote for the next story you want me to update!!!  
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**Also, some quick messages to some people...**

**1) **girlfrom1901: _Thanks for adding "daybreak" to your Favorite Story list!_

**2) **Randi :D: _I'm glad you like it. And here you go!_

**Also, while you're waiting for my next chapter I invite you to read my other stories or please visit my bestest friend, divepup's profile and read her super amazingly fantastical stories!!!  
**


	6. twilight: phenomenon

**A/N: LOOK WHO'S BACK! I had the week off of school for Thanksgiving and, determined to do something other than just a bunch of chores around the house (the latest of which being inventory of our food storage in our basement...:( ugh), I was DETERMINED to write more of "daybreak" specifically since I've been too busy or what have you to write anything in the past, oh, OVER A YEAR OR SOMETHING CRAZY! So, the past two days, from almost the moment I wake up until I go to bed for the night I've been working on writing the story. So far I've only got about 8 pages typed up on Word, but I figured I would be gracious and share it with you amazing people rather than put you through much more torture waiting for more. Unfortunately, when I have more of this chapter I will be just updating this chapter than starting a new one on here. So if you wish to review now (which I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE) go right ahead, but when I update it, you'll have to send me a private message or an email (amydapinkpanther yahoo) to review as fanfiction won't let you review a chapter more than once. But PLEASE don't let that stop you from reviewing now! (To be honest, I'm not sure how you guys will like this chapter so far, so please tell me how you feel about it, and I will continue writing the chapter with your feedback in mind. Anyway, here is the first bit of chapter 5...**

**Disclaimer: Anything in bold after this line does NOT belong to me...sadly I'm just a wishful and imaginative fan...  
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5. twilight: phenomenon (October 23rd)**

Emmett took hold of the book grudgingly and took his time before he finally began reading…

"Chapter Three: Phenomenon.

"**W—**I mean, _blank_—**I opened my eyes in the morning, something **blank** different.**

"**It **blank** the light. It **blank** still the grey-green light of a cloudy day in the forest, but it **blank** clearer somehow. I realized there **blank** no fog veiling my **blank.

"**I jumped up to look outside, and then groaned in horror.**

"**A fine layer of snow covered the yard, dusted the top of my truck, and **blanked** the road. But that wasn't—"**

"Hey! That's a 'w'!" Jasper called.

"_Dang_ it!" Emmett pouted. "I w—I'd been doing so w—good!"

"Just remember: five mistakes and I add another hour! So far, you're only going to 3:40 tomorrow afternoon."

"Stop rubbing it in!" Emmett whined.

"Fine, fine. You may continue." Jasper complied.

"—**that **blank** the **blank** part. All the rain from yesterday had frozen solid—coating the needles on the trees in fantastic, gorgeous patterns, and making the driveway a deadly ice slick. I had enough trouble not falling down **blank** the ground **blank** dry; it might be safer for me to go back to bed now.**

"**Charlie had left for work—**_Dang_ it! I did it again!"

"Strike two…" Jasper said, pretending to check off a list in midair.

A more furious expression I hadn't seen on Emmett's face in quite some time. He was _ticked…_

"_Shut. Up. Now."_

"Emmett, calm down, please." Rose said. "And Jasper," her eyes flashed with anger, "s_hut up._"

"Can I just suggest something here?" Carlisle said.

"Hmm?" asked Emmett.

"I know and understand you and Jasper have you little agreement and everything, but this whole subbing certain words with 'blank' is a little confusing…can you, perchance just try and do something else instead?"

"Okay, I guess so." Emmett replied.

"Thank you. Now please, continue." Carlisle said.

"**Charlie had left for **his job** before I got downstairs. In a lot of **things**, living **something** Charlie ** something** like having my own place, and I found reveling in the aloneness instead of being lonely.**

"**I threw down a quick bowl of cereal and some orange juice from the carton. **(Ooh, a rebel!) **I felt excited to go to school, and that scared me."**

"Why would that _scare_ someone?" Alice asked.

I gave Alice a strange look. "Are you _seriously_ asking that?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Alice laughed, "I was just pretending to be Emmett!"

Emmett responded with a low growl.

"Oh, shut up, Emmett," I said, "It's just a joke."

"**I knew it **something** the stimulating learning environment I was anticipating, or seeing my new set of friends. If I **something** being honest with -**No! Not again!" Emmett cried.

"Stri—"

"_Don't. You. Dare._"

"Nevermind!"

"—**myself, I knew I **something** eager to get to school because I **something** see Edward Cullen. And that was**—Argh!"

"Hey, Emmett," I asked. "Here's an idea. Instead of just saying 'blank' or 'something', why don't you try just skipping over the word completely?"

"Good idea." Emmett agreed.

"Whatever, but just get back to reading! I really want to know what all we'll find out next!" Alice complained.

"**And that very, very stupid. I should be avoiding him entirely after my brainless and embarrassing babbling yesterday. And I—suspicious of him; should he lie about his eyes? I still frightened of the hostility I sometimes felt emanating from him, and I still tongue-tied I pictured his perfect face. I—that my league and his league spheres that did not touch. So I shouldn't be at all anxious to see him today."**

"Emmett," Carlisle interrupted, "I think skipping the words is actually even more confusing…How about trying to replace the words with synonyms. You know, like you changed 'work' to 'his job'."

"Will do, Carlisle!" Emmett said.

"Yes!" Jasper cried out. "One hour has just been added to your sentence!"

"No!" Emmett sobbed.

"Haha!" Jasper cheered. "I win again!"

"Alright, boys, the two of you need to calm down." Esme intercepted.

"Sorry, Esme." Jasper murmured. "I just got a little carried away…"

"Mhm…" Esme replied.

"**It took every ounce of my concentration to make it down the icy brick driveway alive. I almost lost my balance **as** I finally got to the truck, but I managed to cling to the side mirror and save myself. Clearly, today **is** going to be nightmarish."**

"Well, isn't _that_ the truth?" I said, remembering that fateful day…

**~FLASHBACK/MIDNIGHT SUN EXCERPT~**

**It was a quiet ride to school. Jasper could tell that Alice was upset about something, but he knew that if she wanted to talk about it she would have done so already. Emmett and Rosalie were oblivious, having another of their moments, gazing into each others' eyes with wonder—it was rather disgusting to watch from the outside. We were all quite aware how desperately in love they were. Or maybe I was just being bitter because I was the only one alone. Some days it was harder than others to live with three sets of perfectly matched lovers. This was one of them.**

**Maybe they would all be happier without me hanging around, ill-tempered and belligerent as the old man I should be by now.**

**Of course, the first thing I did when we reached the school was to look for the girl. Just preparing myself again.**

**Right.**

**It was embarrassing how my world suddenly seemed to be empty of everything but her—my whole existence centered around the girl, rather than around myself anymore.**

**It was easy enough to understand, though, really; after eighty years of the same thing every day and every night, any change became a point of absorption.**

**She had not yet arrived, but could I hear the thunderous chugging of her truck's engine in the distance. I learned against the side of the car to wait. Alice stayed with me, while the others went straight to class. They were bored with my fixation—it was incomprehensible to them how any human could hold my interest for so long, no matter how delicious she smelled.**

**The girl drove slowly into view, her eyes intent on the road and her hands tight on the wheel. She seemed anxious about something. It took a second to figure out what that something was, to realize that every human wore the same expression today. Ah, the road was slick with ice, and they were all trying to drive more carefully. I could see she was taking the added risk seriously.**

**That seemed in line with what little I had learned of her character. I added this to my small list: she was a serious person, a responsible person. She parked not too far from me, but she hadn't noticed me standing here yet, staring at her. I wondered what she would do when she did? Blush and walk away? That was my first guess. But maybe she would stare back. Maybe she would come to talk to me.**

**I took a deep breath, filling my lungs hopefully, just in case.**

**She got out of the truck with care, testing the slick ground before she put her weight on it. She didn't look up, and that frustrated me. Maybe I would go talk to her…**

**No, that would be wrong.**

**Instead of turning toward the school, she made her way to the rear of her truck, clinging to the side of the truck bed in a droll way, not trusting her footing. It made me smile, and I felt Alice's eyes on my face. I didn't listen to whatever this made her think—I was having too much fun watching the girl check her snow chains. She actually looked in some danger of falling, the way her feet were sliding around. No one else was having trouble—had she parked in the worst of the ice?**

**She paused there, staring down with a stranger expression on her face. It was…tender? As if something about the tire was making her…**_**emotional**_**?**

**Again, the curiosity ached like a thirst. It was as if I **_**had**_** to know what she was thinking—as if nothing else mattered.**

**I would go talk to her. She looked like she could use a hand anyway, at least until she was off the slick pavement. Of course, I couldn't offer that, could I? I hesitated, torn. As adverse as she seemed to be to snow, she would hardly welcome the touch of my cold white hand. I should have worn gloves—**

**"NO!" Alice gasped aloud.**

**Instantly, I scanned her thoughts, guessing at first that I had made a poor choice and she saw me do something inexcusable. But it had nothing to do with me at all.**

**Tyler Crowley had chosen the turn into the parking lot at an injudicious speed. This choice would send him skidding across a patch of ice…**

**The vision came just half a second before the reality. Tyler's van rounded the corner as I was still watching the conclusion that had pulled the horrified gasp through Alice's lips.**

**No, this vision had nothing to do with me, and it had **_**everything**_** to do with me, because Tyler's van—the tires right now hitting the ice at the worst possible angle—was going to spin across the lot and crush the girl who had become the uninvited focal point of my world.**

**Even without Alice's foresight it would have been simple enough to read the trajectory of the vehicle, flying out of Tyler's control.**

**The girl, standing in exactly wrong place at the back of her truck, looked up, bewildered by the sound of the screeching tires. She looked straight into my horrorstruck eyes, and then turned to watch her approaching death.**

_**Not her!**_** The words shouted in my head as if they belonged to someone else.**

**Still locked into Alice's thoughts, I saw the vision suddenly shift, but I had no time to see what the outcome would be.**

**I launched myself across the lot, throwing myself between the skidding van and the frozen girl. I moved so fast that everything was a streaky blur except for the object of my focus. She didn't see me—no human eyes could have followed my flight—still staring at the hulking shape that was about to grind her body into the metal frame of her truck.**

**I caught her around the waist, moving with too much urgency to be as gentle as she need me to be. In the hundredth of a second between the time that I yanked her slight form out of the path of death and the time that I crashed into the ground with her in my arms, I was vividly aware of her fragile, breakable body.**

**When I heard her head crack against the ice, it felt like I had turned to ice, too.**

**But it didn't even have a full second to ascertain her condition. I heard the van behind us, grating and squealing as it twisted around the sturdy iron body of the girl's truck. It was changed course, arcing, coming for her again—like a magnet, pulled it toward us.**

**A word I've never said before in the presence of a lady slid between my clenched teeth.**

**I had already done too much. As I'd nearly flown through the air to push her out of the way, I'd been fully aware of the mistake I was making. Knowing that it was a mistake did not stop me, but I was not oblivious to the risk I was taking—taking, not just for myself, but for my entire family.**

**Exposure.**

**And **_**this**_** certainly wasn't going to help, but there was no way I was going to allow the van to succeed in its second attempt to take her life.**

**I dropped her and threw my hands out, catching the van before it could touch the girl. The force of it hurled me back into the car parked beside her truck, and I could feel its frame buckle behind my shoulders. The van shuddered and shivered against the unyielding obstacle of my arms, and then swayed, balancing unstably on the two far tires.**

**If I moved my hands, the back tire of the van was going to fall onto her legs.**

**Oh, for the **_**love**_** of **_**all**_** that was **_**holy**_**, would the catastrophes never end? Was there anything else that could go wrong? I could hardly sit here, holding the van in the air, and wait for rescue. Nor could I throw the van away—there was the driver to consider, his thoughts incoherent with panic.**

**With an internal groan, I shoved the van so that it rocked away from us for an instant. As it fell back toward me, I caught it under the frame with my right hand while I wrapped my left arm around the girl's waist again and drug her out from under the van, pulling her tight up against my side. Her body moved limply as I swung her around so that her legs would be in the clear—was she conscious? How much damage had I done to her in my impromptu rescue attempt?**

**I let the van drop, now that it could not hurt her. It crashed to the pavement, all the windows shattering in unison.**

**I knew that I was in the middle of a crisis. How much had she seen? Had any other witnesses watched me materialize at her side and then juggle the van while I tried to keep her out from under it? These questions **_**should**_** be my biggest concern.**

**But I was too anxious to really care about the threat of exposure as much as I should. Too panic-stricken that I might have injured her myself in my effort to protect her. Too frightened to have her this close to me, knowing what I would smell if I allowed myself to inhale. Too aware of the heat of her soft body, pressed against mine—even through the double obstacle of our jackets, I could feel that heat…**

**The first fear was the greatest fear. As the screaming of the witnesses erupted around me, I learned down to examine her face, to see if she was conscious—hoping fiercely that she was not bleeding anywhere.**

**Her eyes were open, staring in shock.**

**~FLASHBACK/MIDNIGHT SUN EXCERPT~**

I was pulled out of my thoughts by the raised voices of my siblings.

"…I _know_, Jasper! But this is just going to have to come before your own personal entertainment via putting Emmett through this torture!" Alice was yelling (at Jasper? Wow, she must _really_ be _ticked_…)

Where were Carlisle and Esme? Surely they wouldn't stand for us arguing so. I glanced around but they were nowhere to be seen. I turned my focus inwards then, opting to search instead for the sounds of their thoughts. I found them easily. Apparently they'd already given a fair attempt at sorting things out, but it proved to them easier to just let things play out on their own…with them at a short distance away.

I returned my attention back to the argument in front of me.

"Come _on_, Jasper!" Emmett pleaded, "I've already read a ton, and I've already had an hour added to my sentence as it is! Why don't you—"

"Aha!" Jasper cried, "Another strike!"

"That's it!" Emmett growled launching himself at Jasper.

I quickly scrambled to my feet and Alice, Rose, and I pulled them apart.

"Calm down!" I yelled at the two of them, so I secured Jasper's arms behind him so he couldn't go after Emmett. "Jasper, a lot of this is up to you. Come on, man, even I am feeling angry because your feelings are so strong."

"That's right, Jasper, calm down." Emmett said from where he was being restrained by Alice and Rose on the other side of the room.

"Shut it, Emmett," I said, "This is your fault, too."

The room went silent then as their breathing slowed, the tension in the room fading away.

"Okay, now, Jasper," Rose spoke up, "Emmett has taken his turn, and now it's someone else's turn. Okay?" she slowly, along with Alice, released Emmett.

"Fine." Jasper sighed, defeated pulling himself out of my now loose grip.

"Okay, so who will take over for Emmett?" Alice asked.

"I will," Rose sighed, holding her hand out for the book. I heard her thoughts, directed towards me.

_It's not like I necessarily _want_ to, but I'm helping Emmett out. Got it?_

I nodded, as Alice placed the book in Rose's outstretched hand.

"**Driving to school, I distracted myself from my fear of falling and unwanted speculations about Edward Cullen by thinking about Mike and Eric **(I felt a flash of anger rise up inside me at the mention of their names)** and the obvious difference in how teenage boys responded to me here. I was sure I looked exactly the same as I had in Phoenix. Maybe it was just that the boys back home had watched me pass slowly through all the awkward phases of adolescence and still thought of me that way. Perhaps it was because I was a novelty here, where novelties were few and far between. Possibly my crippling clumsiness was seen as endearing rather than pathetic, casting me as a damsel in distress. Whatever the reason, Mike's puppy dog behavior **(Emmett snickered)** and Eric's rivalry with him were disconcerting. I wasn't sure if I didn't prefer being ignored.**

"**My truck seemed to have no problem with the black ice that covered the roads. I drove very slowly, though, not wanting to carve a path of destruction through Main Street.**

"**When I got out of my truck at school, I saw why I'd had so little trouble. Something silver caught my eye, and I walked to the back at the truck—carefully holding the side for support—to examine my tires. There were thin chains crisscrossed in diamond shapes around them. Charlie had gotten up who know how early to put snow chains on my truck. My throat suddenly felt tight. I wasn't used to being taken care of, and Charlie's unspoken concern caught me by surprise."**

So that was the reason behind her emotional moment so long ago. I felt a bit of sadness creep on me as well, remembering that moment again, longing again for Bella…

"**I was standing by the back corner of the truck, struggling to fight back the sudden wave of emotion the snow chains had brought on, when I heard an odd sound.**

"**It was a high-pitched screech, and it was fast becoming painfully loud. I looked up, startled.**

"**I saw several things simultaneously. Nothing was moving in slow motion, the way it does in movies. Instead, the adrenaline rush seemed to make my brain work much faster, and I was able to absorb in clear detail several things at once.**

"**Edward Cullen was standing four cars down from me, staring at me in horror. His face stood out from a sea of faces, all frozen in the same mask of shock. But of more immediate importance was the dark blue van that was skidding, tires locked and squealing against the brakes, spinning wildly across the ice of the parking lot. It was going to hit the back corner of my truck, and I was standing between them. I didn't even have time to close my eyes."**

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**A/N: Thanks to all of you for reading this story, it means so much! Please review! Speaking of reviews and such, here are some review replies and thank you's I've been previously unable to send out:**

**Tara:**** Yes, yes it is that fateful chapter. I hope to include a couple of the other Cullens' reactions to the accident later in the chapter:)**

**moi:**** Here you go! And as for Breaking Dawn, they do have it in their possession but it'll be quite a while before they read that (if they even get as far as that...) All I can promise is that they'll at least get to New Moon (Cause I wrote that in the summary, but no further spoilers!)**

**Diana:**** Oh, thank you SO much, I'm glad you like it! And I'm sorry it took me so ridiculously long to update:( Please forgive me? *puppy dog face***

**Caiti Scarlett:**** Are you kidding me? I am FAR from uninterested in this story! It's one of my favorites! (Contending with "Sunlight") And it is a bit tedious at times, but by doing so I don't just skim over the book and can take the time to try to look at it from the perspective of the Cullens:) And I can't just have them get anxious and skip to the next book because I have a plan for when they need to read a certain part of that one *winkwinknudgenudge* But I won't spill the beans past that...**

**Diana:**** First, if this is the SAME Diana as the first-Dang you're persistent! And thank you for being so! Sometimes I need someone hounding me about updating my stories. It's you guys reviews that keep me going (in addition to my own desire of course).**

**RandomFeelinz:**** Thank you for adding "daybreak" to your Story Alert list!**

**Thank you guys ALL so much for reading! Please review; I reply to EVERYONE:)**


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